Spirals

Sage saw the greed in the land, how the people had become consumed by materialism, addicted to commercialism and anything that would keep them distracted from the troubling thoughts that simmered just below the surface of their consciousness.

To listen to these thoughts would be to admit that one might not have the handle on life that one would like to believe.

Who wants to admit that their life is a mess? Who would willingingly put their hand up and say, ‘“My life is a mess and I’ve only myself to blame?

Or to personally acknowledge pain so deep it gnaws at your innards, twisting the stomach into a tight unforgiving pit.

A body that is supposed to be supple, agile, comfortable to inhabit, has become a place of disturbance, distrust and discomfort.

Yet the wearer of said body has grown used to these feelings and would even go as far as to say that they were normal.

Sage had certainly thought so.

The modern mind requires distraction, quick satisfaction, outside motivation and constant stimulation.

Sage had experienced these things herself, for life is a journey of endless spirals of which Sage was adept at sliding up down.

Today she had witnessed such strange occurrences, at a Baby Shower, that her head was in a spin. And she felt like she was, once again - slipping down a greasy spiral and was frantically trying to cling on, so as not to fall into an abyss of mental goo!

She hadn’t wanted to go - but had relented through worry of upsetting people.

She realised the folly of her choice - if she was honest - chickening out - would’ve come with a huge price tag.

It would’ve meant explaining that such events made her feel uncomfortable and in the process of that seeming like she was judging others - maybe she was!

The grand event had left her feeling rejected, misunderstood, incredulous, bemused and judgemental. All of which felt extremely uncomfortable - and the reason she was losing her grip on the spiral.

The worst feeling ever was that she felt like an alien at this event - literally like she belonged on another planet - a sharp, stabbing realisation that - maybe these were not her people!

This is a lot for anyone to process and I’m sure the reader is wondering where this is going - hang in there.

Isn’t it strange to be celebrating a baby that hasn’t yet arrived?

Sage remembered her mum telling her that it was unlucky to celebrate a birthday early, let alone the healthy safe arrival of a precious child.

Then there was the huge mountain of gifts which offended Sages senses.

The mum-to be was sat in an armchair and the pile of gifts towered precariously next to her.

Sage chuckled as she had the thought, “I hope she’s insured, if those presents fall on top of her, it’ll take days to dig her out!”

Then there was the embarrassing misunderstanding of the candles!!!

Sage was standing in a corner as far away from the gift unwrapping as possible, when she was approached by a lady carrying a small box full of tea lights and was duly instructed to take one of them and light it for Hazel.

Sage thought that it was in remembrance of someone and was busy rummaging around in her handbag to offer a donation.

Only to be corrected in whispered tones - so that the mum-to-be didn’t hear - that the coming babies name was going to be Hazel and the mum-to-be expected all of her guests to light a candle and pray for her when she went into labour.

Sage was incredulous! Surely even celebrities didn’t expect this much attention when they went into labour!

Still, so as not to cause a fuss, she dutifully took a candle and shoved it into her bag - feeling a tad silly for being so wrong - though she had no intention of lightning it, let alone bringing her day to a complete standstill in the future to pay homage to a woman giving birth!!!

There was more, a lot more but time and the risk of boring the reader must prevail.

The aftermath of this strange event resulted in Sage gossiping about it to a few close friends and she didn’t do it kindly.

She regaled them with her outrage, indignation and spoke of the others at the party like they should be locked up in a mental institution.

And if she was being totally honest, she revelled in the gasps that her gossip elicited.

The dilemma for Sage now was that she knew she was slipping back down a spiral and she had fought long and hard to progress that particular spiral - and now she had slid back down it so fast that she felt like her knickers had ridden up and knotted round her throat!

One minute she felt like she was getting somewhere in her understanding of how life should be lived and the next doing the exact opposite.

Sage is a slow learner and still strives for perfection not realising that perfection is never to be had.

Which is good news for the reader if you enjoyed this tale. As no doubt I will be able to entertain you with further escapades.