* Guest Illustration for what I wrote below is courtesy of fellow Canadian Triman, who didn't have 'time' to do this when I sent it to him a week ago. Check out his site.

You likely don’t have time to read this.

But you may decide to skim through while thinking about how you should be doing something else that is more productive.

Every day for the past week I have run into people who are too damn busy. I am one of them. Instant gratification is the conditioner. Distraction from reality is the shampoo. This is not a cry for help. Nor is it whining. It is just an observation.

The airline stewardess is almost in tears when she tells me that she is moving her family that includes three kids halfway across the country. One of the children do not want to move.

People are burning out because there is so much more to compute now. I look at old footage of a movie I filmed 11 years ago and notice no one was working after 5 pm that day. Anywhere! The hospitals were quiet. The hotels were quiet. Everywhere we filmed was fairly quiet.

Now I find myself paying for healthcare because our free system is not working and the lineups are much longer. The doctor’s are worn down because of the long hours and they fear in giving advice on the basis of being sued.

Should be working but I find myself reading. What is it I am looking for?

I look into my inbox at the messages I haven’t replied to yet. I will give you a sample of some of those messages here. These excerpts that follow are from women that have come and gone in my life.

This one is from last year, the rest are from this past month:

“Sorry to hear about the busy week, I have had a pretty crazy week too, and I was happy to survive today.”

This one writes to me because she misses me playing online poker:

“Long time no see on the tables!
Have you given up, or something?”

This one that follows is a reply to a message I wrote 19 days before that. This is an exception though as the reply time is expected. She writes:

“hired a personal trainer last week, I firgured if I pay money it might motivate me more. So last night I ate 2 bags of chips, pizza and chocolate bar, pack of swedish berries and a bottle of wine. gross, and I wonder why I'm unmovated and feel like crap.

Still waiting to book my trip south, maybe once it is booked I'll be on the right path.

not painting, just working”

Here’s another one:

“P.S. I do plan on replying to your other email...it is just so busy right now at work!”

This one writes:

“Hey you!
Been meaning to write, but been amazingly busy trying to catch up on all the work that happens when you're away.”

One more:

“Just got your email. Sorry to cut this short but I have to race out…”

This one was written so quickly that the grammar and spelling mistakes were well noted:

“It is always so good to here from you and puts puts a huge smile on my face everytime! That is too bad we cant together...”

And finally this one:

"Well I think it is official...we've both fallen off the face of the earth!
Maybe we'll run into each other there?"

***

We are all lost treasures who cannot find ourselves. The juices sucked out of us are all poison that was breastfed to us by greed and avarice. The only thing clean in us is our hearts and minds. The vultures don't eat those parts and that's all we have to work with. My arm is a hook. The plank looks nice. I like booty.

I'm going to go back to taking care of the Boomers now.

***

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

***

As we become more and more connected with each other in subtle ways there seems to be no real need to get to know new people. We don’t have time for them nor do we need them.

As we become more and more reliable on machinery and equipment that we don’t understand anything about or don’t care to know about, we don’t find the need to create or innovate. Patents and the power of attorney are making individuality and imagination relatively non existent.

When those machines break down and the trains don’t run on time, what are people going to do? Suddenly, the episode of [insert reality show here] is not going to mean much.

The kids are getting angrier. They are protesting in unconventional ways. The only way to make noise these days is unfortunately harmful to the person trying to make it.

You can’t worry about the things you can’t control!

“You are weird” is the biggest compliment anyone can give me. Those three words used to sting.

I will now try to get back to work. Time is flying by. No time to think. No time to think. No time to think.

You should get back to work. If you don’t there are thousands in line waiting to take your spot. Once the bee uses its sting it is resigned to nothing, honey.