Learning to pace oneself in a sick society

All humans have a phenomenal potential

We see it regularly in front of our very eyes.

"Mo Farah makes history with 5,000m gold."

"Phillips Idowu, having jumped 17.70m, his best this season.  When challenged by Christian Taylor with an amazing 17.96m he responded with an improved 17.77m."

“Wayne Rooney goes on the rampage’ with two well coordinated goals for England.

"A team of six row to the north pole."

Yet we – also humans with similar potential – choose to watch it all on television.

We are drawn to the activities of "celebrities".

Some will be inspired to  do well at something themselves having been shown how it’s done.

 Most of us in the UK will just watch. . .

“Viewers watched an average of three hours and 45 minutes of television a day in 2009, according to research published today by the media regulator Ofcom. TV continues to take centre stage in people's evenings, boosted by the popularity of shows such as The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and Doctor Who.

"Television still has a central role in our lives. We are watching more TV than at any time in the last five years,"

When we meet others, what do we talk about – invariably what’s been on tele.

Is this not a terribly sad fact?

When I went round door to door to half the homes in Ulverston, campaigning for a whole year for the County Council post what did I find?

Yes, you’ve guessed, – the persistent glow of the television screen with people sat watching.

Surely this is the true meaning of Cameron’s “Sick Society”.

With the wealth of information that is available through the internet, how many of us use it and for how long, to do something new for ourselves.

You could imagine that with all the stimulation and resources at our disposal in our country, our society would be a hive of activity.

Not so – a large proportion of us instead suffer from loneliness and depression

We’ve all been subjected to endless news from Libya after the worse riots in history.

How sick is that?

Bury the bad news and escape to a world that has little to do with us.

Tomorrow  - or at least soon - I’m going to look on the bright side, here in Ulverston, because this is where I’ve been for the last week or so – hence the absence of postings.

There are some people here who choose to get out and use their time to enjoy themselves with others with the sense of achievement that comes from a job well done.