He looked and sounded exhausted; more than that, he seemed worn down with life’s uncertainties and the state of the world.

I felt really distressed for him, especially as he’s a thoroughly decent man.

The following day he messaged to say he was sorry for having been so negative but that he had been overtired.

However, the truth is that loads of us are having similar bleak and disturbing thoughts, and I don’t remember a time when more individuals were suffering from such an overwhelming sense of having no control over anything.

The various conflicts, and the composition of governments, in many countries are constantly on our minds.

On top of that, we’re keenly aware since Covid that life is less predictable than we’d once assumed, and that dreadful situations can arise out of nowhere.

This has left many folk with anxiety and a feeling of helplessness, plus a marked reluctance to plan very far ahead.

I notice, for example, that though people with families get round to booking holidays because they have to sort them for periods when the kids are out of school, many older men and women do not.

This is a shame because the anticipation of time off........

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