On the way to work this morning R1 made some weirdly obscure reference which put the song “Run Rabbit Run” into my head, and I haven’t been able to dislodge it all day. The song can be found here and the lyrics here (along with some other information).
I remember listening to the song when I was very young and my gran and I would play the old vinyl records on a Saturday morning while the parents were out shopping. We would listen to all the WWII music and I can probably reference a lot of them just from hearing a melody but not if you actually asked me. My gran ensured that when we listened to the music the history behind the songs was also imparted, it was no good hearing a song if you did not know why it was written. Music had a purpose back then, an oral tradition if you will. She made sure I remembered it.
As I sit in my office, overlooking a rather busy intersection, I am reminded of the sacrifice that those men and women made back in the Great Wars (as we call them now). I am pretty sure at the time, they did not think them Great at all. They were tired, dirty and being hurt. Many suffered ignominies that in today’s world would be unthinkable and yet they survived. Women stayed home and kept industry alive, men (boys really) went to war and saw things that they should never have. Many paid the ultimate sacrifice and never even made it to wherever home was. If they had not have done that, what would the world look like now?
The news is full of radicals, (I don’t really care about their politics, they are radicals) who are out to destroy the life we are all currently living. Every country has those who wish for others to live under some form of dictatorship. Some form of our viewpoint is better than yours, so listen to me.
Let me distill this one step down. Many households have this too. There is a radical living inside our homes and it is silently killing our families and we are allowing it. What / who is it?
It is the depression that quietly sneaks in when no one is looking and takes up residence on the bed. The anxiety when we have to face a new day but the bathroom looks so much more appealing. The scars on thighs and arms because the pain switches off the thoughts just for a little while. The alcohol because it dims the memory and we don’t have to remember what is waiting at home. The haze of medication as it takes away that edge of reality so we don’t have to be fully cognizant.
Run rabbit run rabbit run run run
We don’t talk about the radical because of the stigma involved. Mental health? Oh god no!!! Shhhhh!!!!!!!
Don’t give the farmer his fun fun fun
Instead we allow ourselves and those around us to get more mired within their misery and pain and in so doing get more hurt. This last week has seen me get Ms20 a lot of help in this area and I am glad she has opened up enough to allow me to assist her. Also that she has admitted that she requires help. Up to now though she has been a lot like that rabbit, just running around avoiding the farmer and hoping for the best.
How did I segue from a song about WWII to depression and anxiety? Run Rabbit Run reminds me of myself when I am in that state. I feel like all I am doing is running and avoiding the bang of the gun. I just don’t want to be rabbit pie and it almost happened. My suicide attempt was the closest I have ever come. I could not avoid the bang anymore and I did not want to. I am more aware now, more careful but I know what it feels like. It is that frenzied state and there is almost no one to talk to. This is when initiatives like R U OK day in Australia are so important. We need to kick the radical out of our homes, or at least expose them more.
Neuroses Undefined 