An Age-Old Pandemic

Beware the silence within society!

Are you one of those assertive people who like to ‘take the bull by the horns,’ as my mum would say, and use your initiative and imagination to move and shake your world? Do you like to see results? If you’re one of those people, you may find it very frustrating to be around others who are not!

I’ve been noticing this age-old pandemic called INERTIA, (I’m talking about a psychological level), that has been ever increasingly sweeping the western world for so long now that it would appear almost too late to do anything about.

Just so we can all be on the same page, let’s do a definition check; and if you have a more descriptive one, please share:

a tendency to do nothing, to resist change or to remain unchanged

It is a state of being that is not in and of itself negative, but it is often used as a tool to control a person or situation or a method of ‘escape’.

The two most common manifestations that I’m talking about is within relationships, and within society at large. If people are not aligned in their values, it can set the scene for difficulties, apathy and disagreements.

One person in a relationship sees the need for personal development, to grow and learn whilst the other is not interested and therefore does nothing, despite saying they want to, they begin to sabotage the relationship
You’re trying to run a successful business but you have staff who are not motivated and therefore drag the chain
Parents who are desperate for their children to “like them” therefore they allow the children to rule the roost and stay silent rather than disciplining them, creating a world of selfish adults who want everything fast and easy
On a global scale a group of people want to make a law which destroys moral fibre at every level and no one speaks up against it, despite their disapproval

The impact of inertia over time is chaos and destruction of all that is good; because it allows evil to run rampant. One could be forgiven if they asked the question “Is this state of inertia breeding a world of cowards?”

A definition check here would be useful: Coward

One who shows ignoble fear in the face of danger or pain

One who lacks courage to meet danger; one who shrinks from exposure to possible harm of any kind; a timid or pusillanimous person

That is for you to answer, we will all have our own opinion on that question, but the perspective really should be to check in with ourselves. Everyone has a “reason or an excuse” decide for yourselves if the shoe fits AND what you will do about it if it does fit…

One only needs
courts to see the
couples who are
other party to
can move on but
caught in a
and more
children are
middle of such

to look into our law
countless files of
waiting for the
cooperate so they
their houses are
battle of inertia
importantly their
caught in the
battles.

Laws enabling the murder of unborn children have become an everyday occurrence due to people being paralysed with too many selfish concerns to speak up, encouraging more moral decay.

Silence can be more destructive than a bullet.

Throughout history, it’s been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should’ve known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph.

Haile Selassie

Have you noticed how difficult it is to motivate someone with no sense of purpose or care but as it would impact them? At the worst, inertia in the heart of a nasty person can transform into a passive-aggressive weapon; and into the heart of a hurting person can become a passive, nasty tool for self-protection.

Fear of confrontation has most people today paralysed with inertia for fear of retribution; in a world where one sues another at the slightest offence, or worse.

In this kind of world, how do we respond to inertia?

It’s a tricky situation at best and a potentially hazardous situation at worst, especially when your truths are taken for lies and your morals or values squashed into the mud via popular opinion.

What is the source of our first suffering? It lies in the fact that we hesitated to speak. It was born in the eminent when we accumulated silent things within us.

Gaton Bachelard

On a relational note; I have found it imperative to find out who the real person is before you commit to a lifelong partnership with them. I’ve experienced it personally and seen it time and time again where (usually, but not always) a man and woman marry or enter into a significant relationship and the husband is a passenger, who doesn’t want to change or grow at all and then wonders why the relationship didn’t last.

If your significant other won’t communicate with you then there’s your first clue. If your significant other says all the right things but never seems to act unless you initiate, there’s your second clue. There are things to take into consideration such as depression but overall, it’s a sign for you to consider if they are the right person to align yourself with for any length of time. Are your boundaries being violated with a silent bulldozer? There’s your third clue…

Your business can’t operate at a higher level without staff; the resumes are

perfect; they
sneak off for
should be
The business
because you
steer the ship.
history? Could
eye when they
experience?

present well but they
coffees when they
selling or networking.
starts to stutter
are now not free to
Did you check their
they look you in the
spoke of their past
Where you invested

enough to take them out on site to check their level of interest? Did you wrap it up with a quiet chat in a café or park to find out their personal interests and home-life situation?

Have you ever dared to battle with Human Resources after speaking up in the office? How’d you fare? Lose your job soon after? I have been there on more than one occasion, but I just couldn’t stay silent AND I had to wear the consequences. Fortunately, my faith is stronger than ‘their’ bullying tactics and after a little wrestling in the mud, I came out stronger every time for standing by my values; but I can totally understand why people don’t speak up, the trouble is, we then become a part of the problem rather than the solution.

Fast and furious is a fitting title for today’s world it seems. How did parents who were disciplined in a healthy manner, fall into the inertia of peace at any cost; rewarding bad behaviour, silencing the screams with a screen and ‘trying’ to buy the love of their children, who need both love and boundaries AND who respond well to healthy doses of both; after the initial drama of temporary resistance and seemingly hatred for you.

The tide of popular opinion is to not discipline your children, but at what cost? Children learn very quickly and if we don’t step up to be a loving role model, parent, guardian; they will see it and lose respect…. It’s an open invitation for all kinds of acting out just to get attention/bad behaviour! Then we fall into the trap of silencing their screams and tantrums with rewards – sugar, the quickest fix for a child! But must we slowly kill them with copious amounts of addictive sugar to keep them happy and silent, numbing their taste buds, dumbing their brains down and destroying their immune systems?

While we sit frozen with inertial and try to distract ourselves with social media or the latest TV programs (yet again), silence is stealing the potentially beautiful relationship we could have with our children, robbing them of opportunities to use their imagination and stealing society of mature, healthy minded adults and leaders. There is a place for parents to practice implementing boundaries with their children; in fact, it is a responsibility of parents to do so. If we don’t, we risk raising young adults who enter into significant relationships with no understanding of the dangers of a boundary bulldozer and even worse, they may become one themselves. We risk raising a generation, too afraid or lazy or whatever, to get out of their comfort zone and speak up for justice on a bigger picture.

Globally, we in our state of inertia have severed our consciences and lost the art of feeling or human care. Have we ever spoken to a mother who aborted her child, months or years later? Have we ever listened to the devastating impact that had on her, or the ripple effect? Have we ever listened to the stories of mothers who chose to keep their babies; of the challenges they overcame, the lessons they learned and passed on, the love experienced and the contribution that child is to the world at large, that would otherwise be lost to selfishness and negative brain washing of political agendas? What goes through our mind when we learn that slavery is alive and well in our world? That most of the missing girls and women have become sex slaves, most likely never to be found again? What if that was our daughter? Do we just roll over and stick our head in a screen again???

The stoic
silenced
hundreds if
forms of
“They say”
you must
brave face;
not be
OK to speak

façade of society has
people to suicide and
not thousands of slow
death due to inertia.
You have to be strong,
cope and put on a
ummm NO! It’s OK to
strong sometimes, it’s
up and cause waves or

heaven forbid, cause others to step out of their comfort zone and allow them the experience of helping someone in need! It’s OK to ask for help and say you’re not coping well; life can be overwhelming at times, take courage, speak up!

How did we ever become so uncaring that people are afraid to speak up or act according to their conscience or values? Do we realise the cost of being silent, or silencing our own voice? Do we understand the value of freedom, and freedom of choice or freedom to voice our opinion, whether right or wrong?

Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.

Paulo Freire

Have we forgotten the cost that the Veterans had to pay, or chose to pay for the freedom that we experience today? Is the price for comfort so cheap that we’ve sold our souls to the devil?

Sure-enough we all have different values and vision for our lives but what do we do with this gift of CHOICE and VOICE? Why do we so freely give it away like a broken toy? What don’t we understand about ‘inertia?’

You might say that you prefer peace at any cost! I would ask you if you’ve considered that cost??? Have you considered what it could mean to deny your responsibility or opportunity to choose? Have you considered what it would be like to live with someone who constantly thwarts your potential future or ambitions? Have you considered what life would be like in a communist country where we don’t get to choose how we live our life, who we can associate with or when we can do something? Have you considered what it’s like for your neighbour to wake up to violence every morning (that you hear over the fence)? What is it like for the elderly who are bullied by their carers or family members?

Peace at any price isn’t peace, it’s surrender.

Theodore Roosevelt

What does a little
or in the family
silence. Suddenly
alarming
covering incest,
abuse of all kinds.
for the other
ourselves, in the
become
of in-action and

silence in the crowd
breed? More
there’s secrets of
proportions,
paedophilia and
Silence is not safe
person or for
long term. We
entangled in a web
self-deceit, – if I

don’t participate then I’m not to blame if it all goes pear-shaped! Do we then drown in shame and guilt for living a double life; where does it end, I’m in too deep…?!

In a podcast with Brené Brown, Dr Sarah Lewis briefly mentions some of the reasons why people don’t speak up, it’s a message you will want to experience! Be sure to hear my perspective, I do understand that there is a time and a place for silence, but I’m not talking about that in this space.

Participating is a big deal, it’s a privilege and an honour but it’s also risky, especially in today’s world. Sadly, most people are fear struck in case they say or do the wrong thing; in case the social media bullies censor our content and cancels us out for speaking up about something against their political agenda, we’ll tolerate the filthy jokes and opt out of sharing our opinion on a significant issue in case we offend someone in the office; in case we upset a parent at parents group we’ll go along with the malicious gossip… we’ve all fallen prey to one or more of these at some stage. The sad thing about it is, that we somehow tend to think we are not hurting anyone by our in-action or silence.

The strange thing is, we all like it when ‘someone else’ speaks up for the things that we wished we had the courage to speak up about. We like it when they put their necks on the chopping block, and if there’s no repercussions THEN we might echo something agreeable. Is it time for us to take courage, to give wings to our voice? Do we have decisions to make about our future?

We worry so much about the pandemic of covid and go to seemingly ridiculous and in-consistent measures to keep it at bay to be physically safe; but we don’t recognise the symptoms or impact of inertia, or apathy or other emotional and mental deficiencies that create harm more significant than covid or worse. Are you suffocated by inertia? You don’t need to stay that way. Pick up the phone and together we can map out a plan how you would like to contribute to a better world, how you want to stand up and be counted, what you want your voice to be remembered for and how you can be heard…

What reward can your voice, bring about for the greater good?
How will you use it to make the world around you a better place?
What legacy do you want to leave?
Do you want the rest of your life to count for more than your own safe little bubble of desires?

Our world needs individuals like you and me to stand up and take courage and speak up for: truth, freedom, human rights, justice – while we can!