Predisposition. We all have them. The rain has reminded me of predispositions. Being of Celtic extraction (Welsh with some long lost Irish mixed in for good measure) I (and other Celtic folks) allegedly have a predisposition to melancholy, the bittersweetness of life, alcohol, dark things, song & music and the feckin’ rain. I loved the recent snow we had but now the rain. The rain, the drizzle, the mizzle, that rain that clings to your clothes, the refreshing rain, the rain that soaks you to the skin, I could go on and on like this current dreary weather. I would like the warmth of a sunny day. Is it too much to ask? I often throw around the phrase “Four seasons in one day”, and any resident of the Celtic nations would get it, but I didn’t think that this may be some sort of manifesting mantra. I remember being in a very good friends back garden in January, and sun was out and it actually felt warm. We stood, coffee in hand, just basking in the warmth. It felt like a rare, special thing. Simple things such as coffee and the sun, in the middle of a cold winter, were sublime.

I’ve not long returned from living (briefly) in a very rural setting, so the returning to “civilisation” has been a bit jarring to say the least. Rural living isn’t for everyone and certainly has its challenges, but the return to the masses has really made me question what we’re all, and what I, am doing with life. You know, life, that amazing thing we inadvertent let slip by. I didn’t listen to a lot of music (or even had music in my head) or podcasts, which was weird and I’m still trying to fathom that out. But the whole experience made me re-realise that this human existence is systems within systems. It’s something I will return to blogging about at length (lucky you!). It’s impossible to completely drop out of “The System”. To paraphrase Consolidated’s “Business of Punishment” The homeless person is still absorbed in the system. So understanding the various systems our lives become absorbed into is critical. A great personal example for me is money. We live in a system that prizes money and the acquring of wealth. We stay locked in a system, chasing the money. You can call it capitalism, you can call it what you want, but we need money to live. So surely, we should be looking to control the system and allow ourselves to break free from the continual consumption that fuels the chasing of the green stuff. That’s why I wish I had read “Your Money or your Life” a lot earlier in my life, because it is a great resource for building a pathway to freedom. Yes, you are still absorbed in a system, but you are not on the continual treadmill chasing money to fund a lifestyle you’re probably not enjoying. We need to remove ourselves from being the consumer class. Less is more. You would value time over money if only you could get a respite from the continual chasing of money. So you need to understand this money system in order to break free (to a certain extent) of its grasp.

Then I fell ill, and this blog post sat in limbo for a very long time…. Update to follow.