why can't we just rage quit life?

I was playing a game yesterday and when I noticed I was getting annoyed, I closed the app and started doing something else.

When I went back to it a few hours later, I was much calmer and able to play with a cooler head, which means I enjoyed the game a whole lot more.

I try to apply the same principle to many areas of my life.

When my Twitter is full of ridiculous opinions that no one in real life actually agrees with, I log out. (People need to touch grass more often.)

When a movie or series starts to disappoint me, I turn it off without a second thought. (Riverdale, The Flash, Elite, etc.)

When I’m trying to have a reasonable conversation with someone that just doesn’t want to get my point, I walk away. (What do you mean Pounded Yam is better than Amala??)

I try my best to control the things that can influence my emotional environment and I often distance myself from situations or people that could trigger me to react negatively.

It’s how I remain in charge of my life, my thoughts and my actions.

You probably do the same too.

So how do we cope when life itself is the thing that we need an escape from?

On the days when we’re overwhelmed or sad or grieving or confused or angry or just sick of everything and we just want to quit.

What do we do?

There’s no app to close or “log out” button to use when we’re dealing with real life.

It’s just us, having no choice but to live and face the very thing that we desperately need escape from.

Yes, we have solaces we run to: sleep, music, hours of mindless scrolling, the gym, food, reckless spending.

And if you’re desperate, there’s even darker places to go: isolation, drugs, excessive alcohol, self-harm, mindless sex.

But these pockets of relief are always temporal.

In time, they will vanish, leaving you back where you started with an even greater yearning for the “peace” you thought you had found.

Some of these paths only distract you.

Some offer you a little comfort.

Some will most likely kill you.

So,the truth is, they will never be enough to turn life “off” or stop it from going any further forward.

Not in the way you want.

What if we had a real life pause button then? A way to walk away from everything that ails and troubles us?

Not to leave it all behind forever, but to say, “I’ll be back when I’m ready.”

Imagine we could disconnect from all our responsibilities and doubts and heartbreaks and existential questions, and just come back at a time when we feel ready to handle them.

Ready to face them with renewed vigour and recharged minds, without the fear of having wasted time or made impulsive decisions.

It’s an idea that’s oddly alluring; the fantasy of stepping out of our lives and slipping back in when we feel good enough, strong enough, or sure enough.

Alas, life doesn’t work that way.

Unfortunately, the rough patches will remain rough, the questions won’t come with answers and there’s still no precise manual to this thing we call living.

The game keeps going and we all keep playing…

Over and Over.

Day by Day.

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Therefore, I salute you, oh brave player of this game called life.

Despite it all, you keep going.

Carrying on as you should, even when you do not know how to get through any of it. Or even the point of it all.

One day, your game will end.

Mine will too.

Maybe then, we would finally find the peace we have been searching for.

QUESTION - What is your “pocket of relief”? Your path to go when you need a break from everything?

Let me know in the comments, I’m genuinely interested in hearing from you.

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Hello guys, I know I promised something else for today’s post, but that topic wasn’t flowing like I’d like, so I left it for this one that dropped in my Spirit around midnight today.

Like I said -

Lots and lots of posts planned for the coming weeks (so help me God😔).

It’s been a while since I uploaded a fiction story, so that will probably be next.

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grateful for all your support, we keep going. :-)

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