Heath Ledger
I, like most people was really shocked to read about Australian actor Heath Ledger's recent death in the news today. Actually, shocked is an understatement. He was only 28 years old! Apparently, he was found lying on the floor in an apartment in Manhattan yesterday. I am not sure what happened to him but I read an article at that blog - you know the one that sounds like the socialite's name?
Anyhow, they quoted an earlier interview with him that was done not too long ago. Basically, the nuts and the bolts of the article was that according to the interviewer, Heath seemed a little stressed out. He hadn't been sleeping much, was fidgety, seemed distracted etc. Those symptoms seem to be prevalent in most people I encounter these days.
I talked to my hairdresser not too long ago, who told me she decided to tone it down a bit. Although she loves her job, she had been working 60 plus hours a week and was starting to feel stressed out. She mentioned that the turning point for her was when she had a customer who was complaining of headaches. Not long after she had heard that he had died. He was only 31 years old and was burnt out from working so much.
It was a wakeup call for her. She decided to step back and reanalyze what she was doing with her life and decided to cut back a bit. Yesterday, I had someone here repairing the washing machine. He just seemed so stressed out and was also caught up on the same treadmill. He must have been working at least 12 hours yesterday alone.
This fast paced, hectic lifestyle is obviously not working because so many people are on happy pills these days, more than ever also here in Denmark. Danes are reputed to be some of the happiest people in the world, but a recent survey concluded that out of all of the Western European countries, the use of anti-depressants has increased here the most.
I guess the key is to try to find some balance. This modern day rat race characterized by rushing, and stress just isn't worth it if we're not here to enjoy it. That said I am going to practice what I preach, do some work today and then veg out at the opera tonight.
