It’s been a tough couple of weeks, and not just because of my recurrent bouts of acute I-miss-the-X-files-initis. Because however great he is, Dean Winchester does not compare to Fox Mulder (sorry, Jensen), and even if demons’ inherent evilness sends chills down my spine (or is it the devilish grins of the Winchester brothers? Sometimes I just can’t tell…), there is something about aliens and government conspiracies that doesn’t quite compare. Plus where is the Scully in all of this?

The other reason why the last couple of weeks have been so tough is that crutches are, surprisingly enough, really hard to use. I honestly never expected it to be so hard. I’m really not looking forward to another week with them, and no, tripping people with them is not an acceptable way to make it easier, so don’t even think of suggesting it.

On the plus side, crutches have been teaching me a lot not only about the world but also about myself. For example, I thought I was patient, more so than your average person. After all, I do have many younger siblings, both biological and adopted, and so had plenty of opportunity to develop patience.

But nothing compares to the patience the Person Formerly Known as Speedy (yes, me) has to demonstrate when a 6 minute walk lasts twenty minutes. And no, I’m not exaggerating, I actually took my watch out and timed it.

Ironically enough, I haven’t been this relaxed in a very long time. I realised, a week into this entire ankle sprain debacle, that going faster was not an option if I wanted my ankle to heal properly (or if I didn’t want to fall and break something else). So I decided to take it easy; after all, a sprain like mine needs a good 6 to 8 weeks of rest to heal. Might as well learn to rest.

Learning to rest might seem like an odd concept, but it’s a necessity for many people living in a society obsessed with productivity. Most of us are a product of society, bent on productivity and obsessed with outperforming ourselves. I hadn’t even realised it; it took a torn ligament for it to start sinking in. But now I see the signs everywhere, and it scares me. No wonder we aren’t using the power that we have to promote the advancement of human civilization; we are too busy advancing ourselves.

I shall now go send an email to Barack Obama and Stephen Harper asking them to sprain the ankles of every citizen in Canada and the United States (barring medical contraindications) in the hopes that everyone realises the cycle we are caught in. Maybe then will we be able to come out of our self-involved reality and focus on the advancement of human civilization.