Banana Pancakes

I am writing this from my sofa, lazily sat in from of the televsion with Friends muttering along in the background.

When my ipod told me I had to write a blog entitled 'Banana Pancakes' my immeadiate thought was definitely 'Oh bother, what on earth can I write about that?' However, after listening to Jack Johnson's fabulously laidback song ideas began to form and his message was clear.

'We could close the curtains
Pretend like theres no work outside
We could pretend that all the time
Cant you see that its just rainin
There aint no need to go outside'

In 2008/09 an estimated 415 000 working people in Britain experienced work-related stress to a degree where they felt it was making them ill. But why? Why does the population of Britain feel compelled to work to a level where it is making them ill? Yes, I know what you are thinking- for the money. Money related issues are reported as one of the highest triggers of stress.

It seems we are living in a consumer society where money has an increasing worth (recession and currency rates aside). People covet more material possessions and wealth and so they put pressure on themselves to achieve greater levels of monetary wealth. I find it interesting that much poorer countries with far few amenities than the UK report much higher levels of happiness and a better quality of life.

I regularly experience stress (and not just of the PM kind) when the jobs begin to pile up I'm the first to suffer insomnia, break down in tears and develop shoulder tension but I have to wonder why. Why do I put so much importance on these things? Why can't I just have a lazy day without feeling guilty about it later? There is absolutely no benefit to be gained from so much stress.

Now, I do enjoy being busy- I don't cope well with empty voids when it comes to my weekly timetable, however even if you must be busy it seems that there must be ways of doing this without succombing to stress. An example of this would be this morning- I went for a walk. It occupied me well but I could also remain calm.

Earlier today someone described a man who gave up being a barrister to make Lego models for a living. I knew which I would rather do. If only all of us could do the same. But it seems that the rest of us will have to live with the occasional Jack Johnson moments just to relax and enjoy.