Thursday 27 November 2008

Holding My Breath

I've had the itch to blog lately, but no appropriate topics have come to mind. I've had some thoughts running through my head, but nothing really cohesive worth writing about. I'm on edge, waiting. Wound up, taut.

Just now it hit me: I've been holding my breath, metaphorically speaking. I feel like the world is teetering, tense. In some respects it's been this way for a long time, but this Fall I have felt it more and more acutely, and most acutely of all today. There are so many things in limbo, so many awaited things. Here are a few that spring to mind:
  • Obama taking office - will it happen? Will some kind of traumatic or other event prevent it from going ahead? Does George W. have one last trick up his sleeve to hold on to power?
  • Will the whole world's money be used to save banks and car companies? Will they go under anyway?
  • Will the stock market stop plunging, or just keep heading south? Will our diligently saved RRSPs be whittled away to virtually nothing?
  • Will it snow before Christmas? It's November 27th and we have no snow, and above-zero temperatures - that just seems wrong.
  • Will the attacks in Mubai escalate and lead to a nuclear war between India and Pakistan?
And the one that finally made me realize I was holding my breath:
  • Will the Canadian government fall, again, within months of the last election? Or will a minority coalition form instead?
Things seem to get more surreal by the day. Time to stop for something real, like a cup of tea. And time to exhale, both figuratively and literally.

Any other breath-holders out there?

7 comments:

Liz said...

Just watched the National 'At Issue' panel and am holding my breath too. I can't stand the thought of another election but I also can't imagine a Canadian party having the gall to pick away at our democracy like this. I'm sickened by it.

There's too much going on these days. Sometimes I think it would be better to stop watching/reading the news and just getting on with things in our little corner.

Enjoy your quiet time Theresa...and your tea.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Some days it just feels like there is just too much going on. I can not believe that the goverment and opposition would put us through another election. It feels like we have been dealing with nothing but for months between the federal,local and American elections. We have to deal with the threats to the economy. We have to have some fiscal responsiblity and some response to
the public needs. It's neat to find another Can. who reads Sharon A. Take a deep breath and curl up with a blanket. We all deserve a time for peace.

Theresa said...

Hi Liz - I'm convinced that Harper's Conservatives aren't really Canadian, except maybe "technically". And they aren't really even Conservative. Oh for the good ol' days of the Progressive Conservatives. I didn't vote for them either, but even Brian Mulroney didn't mess with some of this bedrock stuff.

Hi Coll, thanks for stopping by and commenting :) Sharon A is a pretty big influence in this household - I like her ideas because even if things don't get as bad as she thinks they will, it still makes sense to be frugal, prepared and community-oriented. We need to learn and do these things anyway, for a more fair and just lifestyle. And, we need to learn how to work hard, make tough choices, and be respectful to each other again, and live life with gratitude rather than with a sense of entitlement.

I hope this latest round of political posturing results in a coalition, not another election. It would be completely irresponsible to spend another 300 million on an election.

Let's all take time for tea and a deep breath. :)

el Maggie said...

Wow - your post had a lot of the ideas that have been coalescing in my head as I think of my own next blog post - this feeling that we are teetering on the edge of something big, but the surreal experience of going about business as usual . . . this week I've been feeling like even my comforting tea is giving me an ulcer. As the world/country are becoming some kind of cosmic sideshow, is it more appropriate to keep on plugging, or to react in some radical way to the radical state we're in? You're right, Theresa, taking a deep breath is probably a good place to start.

Theresa said...

Hi elMaggie - the teetering sensation is really prominent, isn't it? Sometimes it's hard just to breathe, and not hyperventilate. I'm looking forward to reading what you write on the topic :)

Anonymous said...

Hello Theresa,

I found your blog again and would like to tell you that I enjoy your "ponderings" very much. You obviously type with more than 2 fingers.

These are some exciting times. I am so ready for a down-sizing of North American life. I am so tired of everyone's sense of entitlement and wastefulness and skewed priorities. It's time to get back to basics, not Mexican all-inclusives every year.

I have real hope for the future, more now with the world economy unraveling, than I did a few years ago.

Funny thing about Obama - he worries me. I am so inspired by him that I'm afraid someone is going to JFK or Martin Luther King his ass. That would be a tragedy of epic proportions.

Ingrid

Theresa said...

Hi Ingrid - glad you came back :)

I do find the unravelling economy hopeful somedays, and anxiety provoking others; maybe even both at the same time.

I do worry about Mr Obama in the same way - things could go so so sharply wrong if something were to happen to him. A tragedy of epic proportions, indeed.