Part 1 — Staying With the Trouble

Human

When the burn goes too deep and the black dog bites the heels for too long, we break but we rebuild; we fail but we reach; we ache but we still want to love. The struggle of a colonised mind in the industrial meta-modern age. Wake up! Come back to us! We need each other. And the shimmering brilliance of the whole world that is in each of our minds.

Read the Lyrics

Singing Key

LEFT RIGHT ALL

Wake up, mate! You've been sleeping now for days.
You got tangled in your old old ways
But your friends are all still with you and today is a different day

So wake up, mate! There's a million things to do
We could write the world over and bring laughter to our lives
We could just watch the sparkles in the water for a while

Can you hear me, mate? Are you listening?
As long as you and I've got time, I'll be counting all my blessings
for the years of bloody good friendship - You've been on my mind

So wake up, mate! We're just fucking lucky to be alive
We've got all the shimmering brilliance of the whole world in our minds
And do you remember: sometimes we felt immortal
when we were just having a good time

Can you hear me, mate? Are you listening?
As long as you and I've got time I'll be counting all my blessings
for the years of bloody good friendship - You've been on my mind

It's not always going to be easy; sometimes it's just really fucking hard
Mate, it's tricky being human and I know there's no easy answers
but I know you've got a good heart

So wake up, mate! You've been sleeping now for days.
You got tangled in your old old ways
But your friends are all still with you and today is a different day

Can you hear me, mate? Are you listening?

Sit With This

Theme: depression, return, friendship, surviving hard times together

Have you ever needed someone to say "wake up, mate" to you. Or have you been that person for someone else.
What helps you to reregulate and settle your nervous system?
What does "being human" mean to you in these times, not in ideal conditions.
What are the qualities in a friendship that help support people through difficult times? How can you bring more of these qualities to your community?
If someone you love was struggling right now, what's one thing you could offer that doesn't try to fix them?

The Deeper Dive

My best friend felt the burn for too long and too deeply and he slipped from the world and was lost to us for two whole years during which he was unable to parent his children, work or function. Like phoenix he reclaimed his agency and returned and is now alchemising his pain into comedy, palliative care nursing and tending to those who fall the way he fell.