Thursday, February 24, 2011

Some random observations about my immediate environment

I don't know if this is just me, but I sense that there is a lot of nervous/anxious energy in the air and in my environment right now. Or was it something I did in my yoga practice this morning? But I did my usual full primary + second up to pincha mayurasana, and nothing seemed amiss. I didn't throw out my SI joint or any other part of my mind/body, as far as I could tell; also, as far as I could tell, there wasn't any particularly noteworthy psychic energy shift.

As I said, it could just be me; maybe I'm the one who's nervous and/or anxious, and am projecting it on everyone around me. But I sensed it around me the moment I stepped into my office this morning. I always leave my office door open, and I couldn't help sensing that everyone seemed to be walking just a little faster and more hurriedly. And then, about twenty minutes ago, a student came to my office with a very nervous expression on his face. He gave me his paper, which I had just graded and returned to him yesterday (I gave him an A). I was thinking to myself, "Hmm... is he coming to me because he's unhappy with his grade? Uh... does he think he deserves... something more than an A?" Anyway, I asked him to take a seat. He told me that he was really nervous because he had not turned in the first draft of the paper, and was worried that his grade was going to suffer because of that. I asked him if he had the first draft with him somewhere; if he did, he could just turn it in to me right there and then, and everything will be taken care of. He said he never wrote the first draft. I thought about it for a moment: "Well, if he could write a good paper without having to draft, why should I worry?" So I told him not to worry about the draft (I mean, you got an A for the final paper, why should I obsess over the fact that you didn't turn in a draft?). Ha.... the knots we all tie ourselves into worrying about things. Can't blame him, though; I probably would have been the same way in his position, knowing what a worrywart I can be sometimes. But still, gosh! Why all this crazy nervous energy?

And then, just two minutes ago, this other student came into my office, looking very sickly. She told me she had the cold/flu (she's been having some kind of cold/flu on and off for the last couple of weeks; actually, I noticed that a number of other students have also been similarly stricken) and wouldn't be able to come to class today. I thanked her for letting me know, and asked her to rest well at home.

Hmm... so there are two different "bugs" in the air. A physical one (whatever cold/flu bug that has struck down so many of my valiant students as of late) and a mental/emotional one (whatever anxious/nervous energy that is causing people to tie themselves into worry-knots).

Is there a particular astrological explanation for this? Anything interesting happening in the planets and stars this week, astrologically well-versed folks out there?

Or are the aliens arriving soon? Are they using these bugs to incapacitate as many members of the human race as they can, before they land and conquer this planet? Or maybe the world will end on December 31st 2012, and all this is just a premonition?

2 comments:

  1. Hi Nobel,

    Your post intrigued me because I have been experiencing the same thing - with students at my university. In my case I sort of chalked it up to the fact that this is the 5th week into the semester, the gravity of all the work the students have to do has hit them, and then just when it seemed like the anxiety was going to cause people to explode - we go on spring break!

    I have to say, I am just as ready for a break at this point as the students are as my anxiety has been a bit high as well!

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  2. Hi Cathrine,

    wow, you are having spring break? Mine doesn't arrive till something in mid-March. Have a good break!

    Yeah, I've noticed that my students seem to have higher levels of anxiety this semester than last. For example, people have been asking me when they will be getting their papers back just a few days after they turned them in... last semester, they barely even cared! Don't know why; maybe it's an end-of-winter/beginning-of-spring thing?

    Also, I guess it doesn't help that my office is on the third floor: I often have students who basically charge into my office after having climbed three flights of stairs. So I end up being in the same room as somebody who is (1) out of breath, (2) super-anxious/nervous. Not a good combination. Sometimes I feel that I should maybe put up a yoga sequence poster outside my office, and require anybody who wants to see me to do the sequence (five sun salutations, a couple of standing postures, shoulderstand, headstand) before they come into my office. I wonder how that would be received? :-)

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