The London Loaf: The Slow Sniffles
Cold? by foshydog on Flickr
Annalie wonders if she’s the only person who enjoys having a cold: I discovered something rather curious. Upon contracting some form of manflu I realised that I actually became more productive, despite being deliberately economical with my limited energy, and resolving to take it easy; I did less, worried less and achieved more.
It has often struck me that the common cold produces a mixture of pleasant and unpleasant effects; the latter we are all familiar with – runny nose, headache, fatigue, sore throat…etc. But what about the lightheadedness, the feeling of being disconnected or underwater, a sort of heaviness, a calm surrender to the body’s need to relax?
Perhaps it is because I make such militant demands on myself most of the time, that I welcome a plausible excuse to slow down and rest. Rest. What is this? Not something I’m familiar with other than as an antidote to illness. In our speedy world sickness is virtually the only thing that demands we stop and refuel.
As soon as I registered I was becoming ill, an internal monitor kicked in and began conserving energy, so that I was no longer squandering too much on a simple task, as is common. This brought with it a degree of focus and attention on the job in question, and I found myself more absorbed than usual because I was acknowledging the effort involved. Multi-tasking – a much celebrated trait in the twenty-first century – is actually rather draining.
It fascinates me that I have to get ill in order to slow down, but I suspect I am not alone. Even more intriguing is that despite having less energy I achieved more with it. So how can I maintain that state once I’m well again? Our society takes health so much for granted that we can be shocked and rather indignant when our bodies give up on us. Perhaps we should start listening to them before they collapse…
Annalie Wilson
www.annalie.co.uk/
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Image by foshydog (Flickr)
