A bad case of inertia

Although I had no interest in the subject, in school I was compelled to study physics for a year. Somehow I scraped by with a passing grade. I would say I cannot remember a single thing about that year’s study, but that wouldn’t be true. There is one thing I have always remembered: the law of inertia. Put simply, the law states that a body in motion tends to stay in motion and a body at rest tends to stay at rest.

The dictionary definition of the noun inertia differs, focussing on the second part of the law: “a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged”.

God knows I would love to be a body in motion: leaping out of bed in the morning, going for walks, getting exercise, dancing in my livingroom. But facts are facts (no matter what the Trump administration would like voters to believe). At this moment in time I am quite definitely a body at rest, doing nothing and remaining unchanged.

During this walk I’ve been taking with the old black dog these past few years I have at least welcomed diversion. Anything to get me out of the house and out of my head.

This week I’ve had plenty of opportunities to divert myself. On Monday night there was a screening of Casablanca. Given that this is my all-time favourite film, you’d think nothing could have kept me away. As it happens, nothing did just that. I planned to go. I intended to go. I could have gone, but I just didn’t. No reason at all. Nothing. But I just couldn’t get off the sofa.

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings I could have been attending an acting workshop. I signed up for it. I wanted to do it, but I couldn’t get off the bloody sofa.

This is a new and thoroughly unwelcome development.

I know I can’t just snap my fingers and suddenly become a body in motion, but I wish I knew what the first step might be.