Living On The Edge

Not in the exciting way that sentence is usually attached to, but in a normal way, living on the edge of society. While we see more restrictions and rules close in around us in our daily lives, I can’t help thinking of how it happened, and how there were always those signs it would be this way. And instead of heeding those warnings, however subtle they may have been, we collectively ignored them, instead doing exactly what was expected of us. A couple of points for this particular piece, and I’ll go with Gypsies as the first, travelling folk and the ones who seemed to always do what they want, not being told where to be or what to do, yet managing to sustain whole communities and organise. Now, I am aware that a certain criminality used to follow where they went (not all), but was it always that way? Or was that a consequence of new laws and rules, meaning they would always be moved on, not allowed to stay and earn a living, so they adapted to their environment, to a point. Same with lots of areas of the country, where the government keep them in a deprived state, meaning there are only certain options available to them for making money. Because really, that’s what it usually comes down to. People trying to make money, so they have a roof over their head and eat. And they have put so many barriers and obstacles in the way of those very simple things, so they are no longer simple. My reasoning for some of that is laid out in my article Life, and why it would suit a purpose to the powers that be, to make your everyday normal life hard and stressful to navigate.

But back to the travelling community, who may indeed have only become such travellers because they were always being moved on, before they got a chance to settle, or put down more roots. But I became quite intrigued by them as a community when I learnt they were ‘outside the system’ mostly. Same may not be true today, I’m not sure, but I couldn’t believe it. No birth certificate often, didn’t live in houses or on estates, didn’t claim benefits because they weren’t registered, but had to make their way so would do cash jobs or find other avenues of revenue, whatever they could find, I guess. Now, that sounds very much like the type of thing we all used to live like, maybe not constantly moving or travelling, but just getting by. Not having to be registered, regulated and ruled. Because it all starts with that first certificate doesn’t it? Where you sign your children over to the state essentially, and they are then ‘in the system’ as we call it. So they can ‘care’ for you, ‘educate’ you, ‘medicate’ you ‘keep you safe’ and so on. Do you see the pattern emerging? And we have seen how those four particular branches of the establishment, have been used to coordinate what we see now, if you try and get out of one area, another has you. Also by way of regulation though, little things at first, my article It was a piece at a time, goes into that too, but I started noticing when they started fining parents for taking their kids out of school early for holidays. A slight overreach I thought, isn’t anyone concerned by that? The way the authorities started overriding parents became more prevalent, and shocking incidents in the 80’s of children being taken from their parents in the middle of the night by ‘care services’ didn’t make me feel any more safe as a kid, I have to say. I started to see that the authorities had too much power over the individual and family unit, and it would only get worse. Courts gets to decide things, schools tell you what you can and can’t do with your children, they take money from you and interfere when really, if people didn’t have that interference and control over them, maybe they would be able to get on, or sort things out themselves, or be able to grow into a proper adult who is responsible for themselves and their own family. Because they are taking that away slowly, but surely. And perhaps that is why so many seem lost, or unsure, or unable to sort themselves out, because there so many hoops to jump through already just to ‘quality for society’ that some just can’t be bothered. And I totally understand it now. Trapped in the system, and by the system.

My second point is about chips again, covered recently in Chipping away. It starts with pet chips though, and on the face of it, did seem like a good idea. Your dog can always be identified, in case it gets lost, or stolen. Apparently it meant everyone would have to legally register their dog, and you would be ‘good citizen’ dog owner for complying. And oh how we shake our heads when they say, ‘this dog hasn’t got a chip’, or we look down on someone because they ‘didn’t follow the regulations’. Because let’s be honest, it didn’t change much did it? Shitty people can still buy and have dogs, dogs can still be stolen and the chips cut out, or they actually work their own way out i’ll have you know. But it didn’t reduce any dog attacks, or stop any thievery, or make any dogs any safer from that, but yes, some pets have managed to be reunited with their owners because of it. And other people and companies have made an awful lot of money from those products, services and insurance that often goes with a new regulation or law change. And now the talks of chips has inevitably swung round to humans, in fact over a decade ago now, and around 5 years ago they started implanting them. Over 4,000 people in Sweden initially, and maybe more or less by now, because if it was a total bust, would they tell us? Not yet anyway, only after they have sold them to everyone, and exhausted all avenues of revenue for that, would they admit it didn’t work. And not being funny, but we can’t even seem to get the most basic of societal system to remain at a stable or consistent level currently, so the idea they are just going to become this slick fully functioning dystopian society, is almost laughable. But to be fair, I’d rather save the laughing for when I know that for sure, because they are pretty good at making it look like something, without it actually being there or real. If you catch my drift. And this week a leaflet caught my eye, of the Freemasons of Georgia offering child identification chips, so here we are, the Slippery slope just keep getting longer. We are being made to be part of a corporate life and society whether we like it or not, and it seems there really are better ways. Instead of a greedy company pretending to be democratic government telling you what to do all the time to line their pockets, don’t you think?

(c) K Wicks

Virtually Real Life

It’s like we are getting the knock off, cheap version of life. Rebranded, repackaged and repurposed to be what we have currently. Soon to be even crappier they say. A possible reason for this I covered in my article Life, but so many people have noticed it, and a feeling of being unsatisfied is naturally going with it.

And for those who can’t take it anymore, or they just deem to much hassle, we now have assisted suicide. Jut to add to the More than sinister we have going on. But that isn’t really just it, there is an overall plan to help people self-destruct it seems. And if they don’t get there quick enough, they have ways to encourage you or steer you there. And if this simulation in a simulation in a simulation becomes too much after all, you can hook yourself in to another virtual world, which can blow your brains out if you don’t ‘win’ or ‘survive’ in the game. And I’m sure it will be live streamed and watchable to whoever gets their kicks from that kind of thing. Next level ‘gaming and entertainment’ eh? Suddenly the Running Man springs to mind, or Hunger Games and other set ups of that nature.

But we know there are better ways, a better life and way of living to be had. Vast landscapes we are restricted from, resources are hidden and taken from us, and restricted, all sorts of mechanisms by which we could make our lives better have been commandeered and taken over. Our lives have been usurped, from under our very noses. Because trauma and despair in overwhelming doses makes people worn down and more accepting it would seem. People of the past as far as we know didn’t have access to information from the next town as it occurred, let alone the whole world all at the same time, but they did have dramatic incidents from which they obviously recovered, otherwise we wouldn’t have made it this far. The over-saturation of ‘news’ and doom mongering though by way of constant electronic device is making life seem more fraught with danger and darkness than it should be. And not by accident, certain events abroad are often used to fuel and flame a ‘social feeling’ they wish to create which then paves the way nicely for more guidelines, regulations and rules. “You have to do this, because someone over there is doing that”, seems to be the way they are playing it. While ignoring problems right in front of your face. Ignoring the real, to focus on the maybe. Seems complete madness to me and is driving things into the ground. Separate the real issues and problems from the perceieved ones, and understand when someone is taking advantage of a situation or timing, for their own gratification or gain, because there are many opportunists out there, and they come with all sorts of wants. Remember that.

But that is how they get you living a virtual life, within your real one first, by drawing your focus to things that are not directly affecting your physical being, so they worm their way in mentally first, to encourage the adjustment in your physical behaviour. Plant the seeds, then watch them grow kind of thing. Imagine all the things you would have done if you hadn’t been sat watching TV, hours and months spent watching carefully crafted, scripted ‘lives’ and scenarios. No wonder life seems a bit crazy and haphazard to some people, without conclusion or closure, no cliff-hanger, or resolution. Because that’s what happens in the scripted and edited version, real life isn’t supposed to be like that, but it does seem that some people are not able to deal with real life after the expectation or ideals they have developed from societal influences. Media, school, TV, family, friends all play their part in how someone views the world, and forms an understanding of things. So, again, imagine if you don’t like what the family and friends are saying who are real people in your life, but you do like what the television and celebrities are saying, and decide that they are more appropriate for you as ‘role models’ or someone to look up to. Which is fine essentially, we can and should be able to choose our influences and input, but are they real? What if you are basing your whole reality and presence on a work of fiction? And a constantly changing one at that, because the wheels of industry demand that we move that their pace, and if anyone doesn’t keep up or change quick enough, they are cast aside and left behind. No longer part of the current thing, they were just being used to push along an idea, an agenda, to create the next fad. The First Fad gives a bit more on that subject.

And I am going to mention medications here, because it seems that there are many people under the influence of those too, for this I am talking specifically painkillers and anti-depressants/anxiety medication. Covered from a certain angle in Memory and An error, but a big one, it seems that there is another side to these things that isn’t common knowledge as far as I know. I will brief it again, painkillers first. Firstly, the found that some of them impair the formation of short-term memories, which seems important if I’m honest. Also, it turns out that when the painkillers work to help dull your pain receptors, they also dull and dampen other areas of feeling too, like emotions and empathy, leading me to think that long term usage not only gives you an addiction, it also means you are not feeling normal feelings towards things in life. Which may well be the point of why some people continue taking them, once the physical pain diminishes (I understand it doesn’t always in some cases), maybe the other feelings that return are a bit of a shock when you come off them, and many aren’t prepared for it. Having felt and thought a different way for some time, thinking it’s actually you, turns out it wasn’t. Next up is the anti-depressants and anxiety medication, of which there appears to be plenty of candidates signed up to a lifetime of it, some just through resignation that they will never be ‘normal’ without their meds. As we know, some of those meds unfortunately, can actually cause anxiety, and depression, and suicidal thoughts, and physical side effects, and can be addictive. And again, what they don’t tell you is, they also mess with your ability to process new information and to feel emotions and empathy properly, either supressing them, or enhancing them. Sometimes leading to more drugs to cope with the clash of central processing info going on in your brain. I do not agree however, with just expecting people to cope, or throwing them to the wolves of life when they have problems. I think they can be helpful, and useful when applied correctly. But let’s be honest, it suits a purpose to have people constantly in need of something only they can dish out, It’s big business goes into that if you are unsure of a possible why. And it helps to keep people controllable, pliable and comfortably numb, as Led Zeppelin put it, paving the way quite well for a confused society, at odds with itself, and not functioning as well as it could. Not just being held down through economic pressures, systems and regulations, but through mental and medical interference. And perhaps now we know how it could ever get this far, and why haven’t more people realised or reacted…

(c) K Wicks

Prepped For Disaster, Or Clever Programming?

Some of us may feel like we saw this coming, the takeover of society by nefarious peoples by way of money, tactics, and well, super villainy. But is it that we were just ‘paying attention’, or is it in fact that we have been primed and programmed like everyone else, just in a different way?

It would stand to reason you would need more than one method to convince, coerce and nudge people’s mentality in the right direction. So, if you can’t get people with good old-fashioned fear, I guess you would want something else, just as powerful and influencing. Hope. And you have your two great motivators and influencers in this. Fear it will get worse, and hope it will get better. They run hand in hand and are two sides of the same coin. But can be used for very different outcomes.

I have made reference to many films in my posts, and use that imagery or strategy in my thinking an awful lot, which I am aware is not by accident. I have been programmed and bombarded my entire life with their slogans, adverts and campaign of fear and propaganda, so must look at what effect that has really had. At the beginning of this decade, it was already well on the way to looking like a digital future, with Monitoring taking on new and quite intrusive measures, and reference to a certain book kept popping up on social media. And I must confess, having read it as a teenager, had also thought of it a number of times throughout the years and in very recent times, because it seemed to fit so perfectly. Too perfectly, and made the following observation;

“Or did he just write the playbook therefore giving them the blueprint for what we see now? I wonder. Prophetic to predict it but what if it helped to create it”.

Given that I have also written about the power of thought, collective thought and creating realities, I wondered if this was just a mental strategy on their part, to instil the image, words and concept of disaster, apocalypse and societal collapse in our mind, so that we are not only prepared for it, we actually gravitate towards it, as it seems familiar in a way. More so than the complete unknown. Two pieces cover this is some way, The three d’s of conversion under coercion, and Films, real life twisted or just fantasy? It is a worry that because we have had the seeds so firmly planted in mind for warfare and cruelty, when it is upon us or approaching, we are familiar to it, and it’s method of being wielded through people and ideologies, that instead of not accepting it, we just seem to accept it. Well, it has happened before, we did see it coming, followed by how could we have known and let’s hope it doesn’t happen again. Seems like we are on a very buckled merry-go-round, but we are there by choice, each person and thought contributing to where we are now, the good and the bad.

So, what can be done? It is enough to just recognise what you have been programmed for, are we able to see through the ‘triggers and warnings’ they have set up for each side, to bring the fear and the hope forward. Because really that is what it ends up being about, and Star Wars nailed it really, with fear leading to the dark side, and a new hope was needed. So, given there isn’t much to hold onto these days, and if we are programmed for what comes next, then I shall try and make the very best of it and realise that the old false hope they dangled for people was just that. We need A New Hope…

(c) K Wicks

Hotel California or Hotel Strategy?

It’s a very strange thing that is occurring in the UK, maybe not if you are privy to the truth of why, but to us on the ground, it’s looking nefarious. So, i’ll go through the possible motives that I have seen discussed and what I have mulled over myself with the information at hand.

Hotels. At first, I thought it was just to stop people trying to holiday here, around the first lockdown is when I started really noticing they were doing it. Cancelling people’s events that had been booked well in advance, and then block booking the whole hotel for an extended period of time on a government contract. Weird right? Seemed a possible lifeline for some hotels though, with the lockdown and lack of tourists, so I can see why many would have jumped at the chance, but just possibly many have been forced, I don’t know.

But by booking many of the hotels up and down the country, and even more so now, it restricts the native population, and tourists from having anywhere to stay, so it minimises money being generated through those means for the rest of the local area. The figures being discussed about how much it is costing the government/tax payer to collect, feed, house, provide spending money, medical treatment, travel costs for them and family, phones and clothes etc for the people being put into the hotels is eye-watering if they are true. Which does also beg the question, why is that actually happening? When so many are struggling who have paid into the magic money pot the government keep utilising for their own ideas, why is it that people who arrive unannounced and unidentifiable are just given all of the above? That is also part of the mystery. But does seem awfully convenient if you wanted to further destabilise communities and certain areas, it’s been noted there is a distinct lack of elderly and female persons amongst the daily new arrivals, so I can see why it’s of concern. Sweden has shown us that very fast, unlimited movement of people doesn’t bode well for the destination country, with other European countries not far behind in that, especially with such a different ideology coming with them. So why is it that so many countries all offered handouts at the same time, encouraging vast numbers of people to migrate? Guilt? No, I’m not buying that. Is it the Kalergi plan? Because it really does seem like that when you read it through.

But I do sometimes wonder what of the people who have been displaced, who are then being puppeteered to displace others. Do they know they are just pawns? Or care? Do they think that a better life awaits because someone promised it and that it’s just there on a silver platter? Shattered illusions can create a very broken mentality, and one which is not always easily mended. And maybe that is where we can all be united, in disappointment, that this isn’t what anyone thought it would be…

(c) K Wicks

So many now choose… (poetry)

So many now choose

To focus their thoughts

Efforts and time

To more than we’re taught

Because it would seem

That the system they teach

Is more to control

And gain greater reach

It’s not about learning

And indeed never was

But spreading their ethos

And ideals just because

It suited their purpose

To condition a nation

To give them the keys

To the whole population

So when the time came

It appeared in the bag

But as it unfolded

There seemed a big snag

It started as small

Then started to grow

Numbers got bigger

And started to show

Something was wrong

And not what they said

More started digging

And pulling the thread

~

And it all began to unravel

(c) K Wicks

Structures In The Sky

There has been talk of this of late, with the ongoing scrutiny over ‘chemtrails’, the old Hopi prophecy of end times drawing near when there are cob webs in the sky and that cover the earth. But I have been considering that the man-made trails are merely there to cover something up, although it is entirely plausible still they are of a more nefarious nature. Another theory has been put forward which has quite neatly put together an idea speculating about what it is that is being hidden from us, and has always been hidden so far. But what if that Hopi legend meant something else, that the fabric of our reality would be revealed, and that time as we knew it, would come to an end.

The idea that there might be structures in the sky, or a grid behind what we see might sound far-fetched at first, but when you give it thought, not so much. And with reference films, of course.

Firstly, the holodeck in Star Trek. Particularly one of the next generation films, Insurrection, where they simulate an entire world to abduct people without their knowing. Also many episodes show what can be done with a clever simulation.

The second thought, was of the ceiling in the main hall in Hogwarts, of the HP franchise. The enchanted ceiling which revealed the night sky, galaxies and simulated overhead projections.

There have also been a couple of other movies which made me think that there had been a construction phase of sorts to create what we see as our world.

Time Bandits – a great film with a great storyline, to me anyway. But based around a time map of the universe, where there are loop holes in the structure. And the job of the bandits before they stole the map, was to make the trees. I liked that idea, of being able to make the trees and scenery, but the thought of there being builders of reality, and a ‘behind the scenes’ to what we see, stayed with me.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – the newer one. Another easy to watch film, but with the overall premise of earth having been designed and created, then designated to be demolished. And it was, but no fear, they whipped up another one so it was all ok.

But I wondered then about the idea that we are only here because we have been sanctioned by other beings to be here, who really knows, I definitely don’t, but I’ll keep mulling it over as something doesn’t quite add up with the official narrative…

(c) K Wicks

Quiet Quitting – what does it say about you?

I have seen talk of what some people have dubbed ‘quiet quitting’ where in some weird silent protest, you stop being productive at work and instead become a dead weight, because you ‘don’t like’ it. Believing in some way it shows up the employer or the workplace as having the issue. And maybe there are issues that need to be dealt with, but not quite sure how not working or communicating said issues is a positive thing.

Maybe I have missed a point or something, but it just sounds like a very childish thing to do, and as well as wasting time and resources for your employer, you are actually wasting your own time and selling yourself short. I have had many jobs, and have left many jobs. I may not have left right away when I knew it wasn’t for me, but I sure as shit didn’t drag everyone else down with me, which is what this sounds like to me.

Instead I took action to either change what I didn’t like about my workplace, management or role, or left to go and work hard somewhere else. It was that simple and covered in my piece Work ethic and employment. Refusing to lower my standards for someone else, rather just accepting that I was no longer of use where I was. Played out in real time in one particular job where the manager was useless, the staff knew it and we were failing as an office because of it, so I reported them. In the meeting to discuss it (I was 21 at the time), the area manager said they knew they knew the manager was crap, but good managers don’t grow on trees, I should lower my standards. And being honest, it was probably one of the best things he could have said, because it shocked me slightly that anyone would expect me to lower my standards to fit a failing system, and it also clearly showed me I was working with the wrong people. When something has run its course important to know when Walking Away is appropriate. By staying and just demotivating yourself, when you could be getting on with that you could or should be doing, seems very counter productive. To me anyway.

I also developed a certain mindset rather early on, that when I quit something it wasn’t a failure on my part, it was a move to stop wasting time and took me a step closer to what I was meant to be doing, whatever that was. It became a positive thing, although that didn’t mean I just went and quit at the drop of a hat, but my length of time at jobs became less and less throughout my 20’s as my confidence, skills and ability developed further. I realised I wouldn’t get what I was seeking from a workplace, or a boss, so at 27 started my own business in admin and finance, making sure I could work to my standard and level of professionalism. If I had lowered my standard, or reduced my interests because of someone else demotivaing me (and there have been many who could have), I quite probably wouldn’t have made it this far, still running my business. And setting up another one a few later later for all my creative endeavours.

Quiet quitting to me, means quitting on yourself, but by using someone else as way of an excuse. Take ownership of your own situation, recognise what it is you don’t like about it, or the person/people causing it, and work to change it, or remove yourself from it. Don’t sink to their level as they say, use it to realise you are not like them.

There are of course, a few people, who are not quiet quitters at all through demotivation, they are simply just lazy and don’t pull their weight, and never did. instead getting their feet under the table and doing as little as possible to get by, and get paid. Furlough really let those people shine through, but looks like many are here to stay, for a short while anyway. There will be many job losses coming over the coming months if the ridiculous and catastrophic energy debacle is allowed to continue. Where only supermarkets and homes will have power, and everything else will be closed or running on rations. Sounds fun doesn’t it? I do understand that now we have a different landscape for work and employment dawning, you can’t train or plan properly anymore and I commend any small businesses that make it through, whatever your attitude. And I don’t blame poeple for not really feeling like their heart is in it anymore, it’s been metaphorically ripped out of their chest in some cases, so being demotivated is a real problem right now, and not through laziness, but sheer worry.

So, we really need people to be thinking about making things work and actually doing it, rather than putting your feet up, switching off and thinking someone else is going to do it for you and not even caring if it works or not. This is your life, take control and take part while you still can…

(c) K Wicks

Zombies? Perhaps…

Prepped for it, exposed to the ideas of it and potentially waiting for it. Gen X are the ones in line for this I feel, and possibly quite a few of Gen Y as well. And I wondered why. Why the need to have it as a mainstream idea, they are not without uses and this one has been carried forward like a security blanket. As if the idea of an outbreak leading to a zombie apocalypse has been so thought through and expected, that it can’t be let go of. And I’m sure the idea of it may seem silly to some who have not considered it, but to a certain group of people, or section of society should I say, I suspect they know precisely what I am talking about.

I have already given a brief overview of my thought in The Zombie Thing article, and touched upon the idea of the dead coming back in The dead walk the earth, but could it be that it was never meant to be that way. The idea of it was. People fear people, that’s no secret, but the idea of people being turned or mutating into the very worst version of a human is one of our deepest fears perhaps. The number of humanoid monsters and demons that are depicted in movies and films is like that for a reason, because we can identify with it, however horrible it is. And that is what makes it even scarier, seeing part of you in it, and it in you.

But what if they pre-program us to behave in that way when faced with what appears to be a similar scenario. There seems something familiar about it, so we do what makes us feel most comfortable in an uncomfortable situation. If we remember ‘seeing’ someone else react a certain way, even if only on the television, it is still a reference of experience, or at least our brain may treat it as such. Two things spring to mind, even if only a loose connection to what I mean. Firstly, a Derren Brown trick in one his tv series years ago, where a chap was playing a zombie video arcade game, and then he was ‘hypnotised’ by Derren to think it was happening. Add in some actors in make-up, lighting and everyone else playing along, and he thought it was real. Even without being hypnotised, just having actors, make up and scenery can do the job tricking our mind into believing that is our reality at that moment. We have two processing centres in our brain (they say), called primary processing centre, which obviously acts as the first response. Followed by the secondary processing system, which then takes over after the initial reaction to review it and make sure it was appropriate. But as we know, in a split-second life or death decision making situation, you will have to reply on the primary response centre. Whatever information it is accessing for that moment is what you will have to go with, so if you don’t have very good reasoning skills or reactions on the spot, you will fail. No pressure or anything.

The second thing that came to mind, in two parts, or rather two things rolled into one. A company started doing zombie simulation ‘games’. Where you had an area, actors pretending to be zombies, and the thrill ride of pretending the outbreak was happening but in safety and a big comfort zone. The other tie in being the film The Fifth Wave – whereby they fool children into thinking there are aliens/infected that have to be killed – but really they are other humans. We appear to have a bulk of crisis actors across the board today, and although it might seem far-fetched to think we could actually have a zombie virus outbreak. I sure as hell believe they could easily fake one. As has been done with so many other situation, scenarios and events.

But that does not mean to say the time was wasted or misspent, there may well be a time coming where we have to consider if our fellow man is really so, and that something dark does indeed lurk and dwell in this realm. You never know when there may come a time for all that training and thought to be put to good use…

(c) K Wicks

A little bit of privacy

I gave it thought after explaining what privacy meant in childhood for me. It was limited and coveted, and I snatched it up where I could.

If you grew up with siblings, you might remember mornings being noisy, and hectic. Sleepy and having to get ready for school. The journey to which being noisy and busy, either walking or on the bus. Then you get to school, surrounded by lots of people, maybe you get a few minutes to yourself in the toilet or at break, but not often. There was stuff to talk about, and things to do before you had to go back to the confinement of the classroom.

After a long day of constant people and learning, back home again to then do the domestic routine. Getting to be able to go out after school used to be time to unwind. Even though usually spent with friends, it didn’t seem as demanding. Just relaxing and checking things out or being silly. Weekends and school holidays used to be the best for knowing you didn’t have that stupid daily bind. And if you were able to be out of the house, it was great. No-one knew where you were, what you were doing. It was nice, as is the nostalgic thought of it, because I enjoyed those moments then as I do now. My mother wanted to know what I was always up to, and I had an older sibling who was not my ally. And as you learn along the way, some ‘friends’ can’t be trusted either. So, trying to find a bit of peace in yourself in your own time can be a full-time job sometimes. I guess that’s why it seems that privacy and freedom go hand in hand.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t ever go away just because you get older. It turns into employment instead of education, where you still have a schedule and it needs to be maintained. It can be the same for people who chose to stay at home and bring up the kids rather than employment (or insanely juggle both). I realise the need for just five minutes on your own sometimes is necessary for everyone. Especially if you spend a lot of time around people, not everyone understands how draining it can be. Even if it’s your nearest and dearest. (The funny videos on the internet showing this by way of a closed bathroom door and a horde of animals and kids outside waiting). And now there is a new world of busy without even leaving your house or being in the company of anyone, you have The Internet. Where you can feel surrounded and drained without physically being around people at all, it’s an odd thing really. That we allow the perception of it being real, and that they are people we are engaging with, therefore use real emotions and time to deal with it. Maybe that’s why we have so many bots taking up people’s time and stirring the pot perhaps – if that is the case. To take that energy that people freely give and leave them drained and unsatisfied. Not just the fake profiles, real people can do it too, strange though that so many allow it from people who aren’t anywhere near them, or anything to do with them, or who aren’t even people.

Maybe it’s been with us now for so long, the internet, that people don’t understand what privacy and time to yourself is anymore, that it has lost its meaning. Or for some, perhaps they were never comfortable with just their own company, so the idea that can be ‘with people’ all the time is better for them, which is why they do not complain about the digital society taking over every aspect of life. They welcome it because it gives them a feeling of security, where the previous society caused them anxiety and uncertainty. The digital one appears to offer a friendly network of life and opportunity, people and virtual experiences. Where they will monitor you to tailor everything to you, making it seem as if you are important. And you are, in coding and for numbers only. They need a certain number of ‘players’ to make it work, and see it through to conclusion, and so far, unfortunately, there seems to be lots of willing bodies happy to oblige them. But what of the ones who do not wish to play the game, to insert ourselves into this buckled mainframe and help to create their fantasy illusion of omnipotent overseer. Like skynet, but with a face. I guess we have to see what happens next and how they plan to target the remaining freedoms we have, and those who choose to stand up for them…

(c) K Wicks