Zoom 🗞️ Slow News Day #47

Hey,

So I’ve not been feeling wonderful for the last few weeks. Well, I don’t know. I’ve been alright a lot of the time, but I’ve had this hard to shake malady that keeps coming back. Sometimes it’s behind my eyes and it feels like my vision is half a second delayed and everything’s a bit too bright. Other times it’s a twisting knot in my stomach that sidelines me pretty strongly. Other times it’s a kind of aching in my face - like my sinuses have enflamed after a bunch of sneezing. It can also be a bit shakey and shivery, a bit headachey, a bit… off?

It’s been hard to put it into words because it changes quite often and sometimes seems to go away.

Basically, I keep feeling not so good and it’s been going on for three or four weeks, on and off. Because of its changing nature, I’ve been finding it hard to pin down exactly what the cause could be.

And then I zoomed out a bit.

Going back by about 12 weeks or so - to mid-February - things become a bit clearer. In that time, I have:

• Moved between five places in three countries (and, within the UK, three counties)

• Lost my Grandpa and attended his funeral (including 10 hours of travel over two days)

• Got four tattoos, totalling about nine hours in the chair

• Got back into running from a starting point of very low fitness

• Worked with one dream client and been ghosted by some other prospects

• Spent two weeks on my own for the first time in years, full of anxiety and excitement

For goodness sake, man, have a break. I reckon my nervous system is shot to pieces — that I’ve pushed myself way past my normal limit for too long and not given my mind and body the time really get back into balance.

Hermit Spring incoming — and a good look at how I look after my energy and my body, too.

Slow down guide

Need a little help moving slower?

Ease your way out of Friday afternoon with this newsletter, a nice cup of something, and a little background music. Steal my setup if you aren't sure where to start.

After I press send, I’ll be moving on from Ozone’s Sumava Lactico roast to their Juba roast instead. Tasting notes of blueberry, black grape, and bubblegum? Get me in there. (Again, same as last week, that’s a referral link that gets me 1,000 loyalty points if you make a purchase. No expectations, I just want to be upfront about it.)

This week’s bop to accompany your brew? EMMA by Kean Kavangh. This has been one of my most persistent earworms of the year so far - it’s some kind of perfect balance between bouncy, washed out, and gutsy. The vocals are great, the beat is moreish, and it’s hard not to want to nod along to it. Just mind any spillages if you’ve got a full mug.

Take it easy,