Burned Out By The News? Watch This And Feel Restored
Feeling overwhelmed? This could be the break you need.
Hey there, how you doing? I hope you’re alright, and have had a reasonably good week so far.
In today’s Refreshment, I help you reset your mind, so the negative news cycle no longer gets you down. I also tackle the thorny issue, that of work-life balance that we all so often struggle with. Let’s go!
In Trays, we share suggestions for entertainment from beyond the norm.
I think you might agree, that many of us right now are feeling burnt out, even quite downhearted, by the negative news cycle and gloomy world events. The state of the world these days leaves much to be desired! What the heck happened to humanity? Yo, can someone press the STOP button so we can get off the misery train, please!
Well, here’s something for you that will lift your spirts immediately. That is the STOP button.
Time to switch off the news, and block all the noise, and instead fill your screens with Koyaanisqatsi. This is a film but not really; this is a documentary but also not really.
Released in 1983, Koyaanisqatsi is unlike anything you’re likely to have seen, and for that reason, its impact is hard to describe in normal terms. There’s no plot to follow, no characters to connect with, and no real narrative pulling you from one scene to the next. And yet, using just images and music, it’s engrossing and an emotional rollercoaster to boot. It will give all your emotions a good ol’ workout, and not just the negative ones.
Renowned composer Philip Glass really hits the spot, with his unearthly sounds. Meanwhile, the cinematography by Ron Fricke is almost hypnotic, in how he presents the world depicted in Koyaanisqatsi.
And what is that world, exactly? It’s our world, that of human life and modern civilisation. Without a single word uttered, Koyaanisqatsi presents humanity as a complex, striving force, capturing the beauty and wonder of our accomplishments. It stands in total contrast with the modern news cycle that’s all about war, tragedy and hate. It offers balance.
It’s easy to forget that humanity has done a lot of good things in the world, for us and for nature, when the negativity around us permeates everything, blocking out all the good in the world like a permanent solar eclipse. (Whoa, long sentence!)
Despite being released in the 1980s, Koyaanisqatsi is actually timeless. And don’t think just because it was released in the 80s, you’re gonna get a cheesy film, as is often synonymous with that time period, oh no. Koyaanisqatsi is state-of-the-art filmmaking. The film flows through slow-motion and time-lapse footage, occasionally reversing time itself. There’s no narrator guiding the way; the film rests solely on music and imagery, inviting you to come to your own conclusions.
If you don’t fancy sitting down for a full viewing, you can have it playing softly in the background while you do other things. It’s like a meditation, in that way, a haven of calmness. It can also be a nice backdrop for a dinner party, offering soothing sounds while you eat, plus topics for conversation. It will leave you all in a place of goodness afterwards, and that’s no joke.
Here’s the trailer: Koyaanisqatsi Trailer
In Brick Language, we help clear the path to a happier you.
Let me ask you this: how often do you find yourself struggling to draw the line between work and your personal life? Maybe you tell yourself it’s difficult because you genuinely enjoy your job and want to do more. Or perhaps you feel pressure to stay late or take on overtime, because it’s expected.
We’ve all been there: stressed out, burnt out, and desperate for a break. It’s easy to stay late at work, because there’s always more to do at work, another task, another thing to tick off. But here’s the issue: when you don’t set clear boundaries, work will start to seep into every part of your life. Suddenly, personal time shrinks, and it becomes harder to switch off. The stress from work will follow you home, and without even realising, you start losing sight of who you are outside of your job. Do you live to work or work to live? Why does personal time always seem to take the hit?
Sure, having a job is necessary—it pays the bills and all that. But your health, both physical and mental, is even more necessary. Without it, how can you do your job well, let alone enjoy the other parts of your life? Time is one resource you can never get back. If you don’t draw a line between work and life now, you might look back one day with regret—wishing you’d spent more time with friends, with family, or just for you. Work will always be there, but the moments you miss outside of it are fleeting.
This week, I challenge you to pick just one evening to leave work on time—whether that’s 5pm. or whenever your day is supposed to end. Start packing up 30 minutes before, log off, and tidy up before you go. If you work for yourself, set the same rule. Choose one evening to rediscover what it feels like to have free time: to go home, unwind, and do nothing. Even if it feels a bit weird, just try it. If you can’t do it for you, then do it for your friends, who miss seeing you because you’re always at work. Take this step, for all of you.
In It’s Curtains, we say a fond farewell to the many wonders that have helped bring us together.
And today, we say goodbye to the humble slide projector, our trusty companion in classrooms, conference rooms, and living rooms across the world. For decades, this piece of equipment brought people together with the click of a button and the whir of a fan.
The slide projector wasn’t just a tool, nope. It was an experience. Who can forget the anticipation as the first slide hit the screen, spraying the room in soft light, or the satisfying click as each new image appeared? Families got to relive their vacation memories, teachers could illustrate their lessons with photos, and presenters could dazzle their audiences with carefully curated images.
The mechanics were pretty simple. By holding slides in place and shining a light through them, these machines projected crisp images onto the screen. Okay, sometimes they jammed or overheated, but let’s overlook that! We’re saying goodbye after all, no need to bring up the not-so-good stuff.
Unfortunately, as laptops took over the spotlight, and so slide projectors slowly began to fade from our lives. Nowadays, presentations are instant, images are endless, and clicks are mere keyboard taps. While the slide projector may be gone, its legacy endures in the connections it helped to create, each nostalgic memory preserved in its gentle hum.
So, farewell to the dear slide projector. May it rest with peace, in the backs of dusty storage cupboards everywhere, knowing it did a good job for all of us.
And finally, we address an awkward situation.
Have you been on a phone call, where suddenly all the conversation stops and in its place is awkward silence? You know the one I mean, right? Where neither person knows what to say next. Where shifting in your seat is louder than anything coming from your mouth. Where one of you might attempt to restart the chat, except not.
Well, awkwardness no more. All you need to do is to say something a bit weird, to break the silence and get things moving again. Such as this sentence.
Yep, easy as that! Will you give a try the next time you’re stuck? Would love to know how it goes.
Thank you for reading today’s Refreshment. Hope it’s given you some fun thoughts.
If you haven’t already, please take a moment to tell your mates about us and have them come onboard. We all need an excuse to get together, free of the chaos of the outside world.
Because remember: together, the merrier.