Life moves pretty fast

I think it common to most people to have a “go to” method of escapism. That one thing that, when life needs to be simple, uncomplicated, enjoyable and hopefully relaxing, will take you out of the moment and situation you find yourself in and put you elsewhere.

It can be alone or as part of a group or community and its variety across humanity almost unlimited. You can see it this time of year in singing groups, yarn bombing, viral videos of Christmas house decorations or light escaping under garage doors where something is being created, built, repaired, or restored. You see people bundled up to do a little clear night astronomy, completing the newspaper Christmas crossword or simply planning a meal.

For me, it is not based around a single activity, but around a single genre and that is my love of science fiction. If I want a moment elsewhere, a time to be away from whatever is buzzing around my brain, sci-fi is where I turn. Interestingly, I have completed hundreds of sessions of mindfulness on the Calm app, I do my best to exercise and I have completed a little bit of exploration of the world and, much as these things all do me good, I still find there is nothing that grabs me quite like science fiction. For me the only comparable thing to hold my attention is football and even then, that is a more emotionally risky and challenging activity than I receive from the payoff from a good sci-fi story.

In between World Cup matches, I have been going through a bit of a Star Trek phase. (I mean in a more literal way than the last 30+ years of being a Trekkie!). I caught up on recent series of Lower Decks, Discovery and Strange New Worlds and I decided to start from the beginning and watch all the series and movies in order. I am currently coming to the end of season one of The Original Series so a way to go yet – light years you may say.

An aside before I move on, I will just comment about how much you forget when not watching the show just how horny a being Captain Kirk is! The line from Doctor McCoy in Star Tek VI to his friend after yet another pash session with a femme fatale of, “what is it with you anyway?”, is spot on! The fella is a walking hormone!

Anyway, to get back to the point. This sort of rewatching of my favourite sci-fi is not unusual for me. Last year, I did the same with Star Wars. As you can see above, I am the sort of person that Sam Fender refers to in the excellent Hypersonic Missiles, as someone who can “recite every line and scene” when it comes to a lot of mainstream science fiction. He challenges us in that song to consider whether this kind of activity is a component of naivety of the world around us and can you respond positively to, “you’ve lived your life?”, as a result.

This track came on the other day in a playlist and got me thinking about that challenge and the value of escapism. It seemed particularly pertinent as it could be said my sabbatical is an expression of escapism. It is my life but not as I know it – stepping away from day-to-day business and putting myself in a slightly false position of not having that component in my life. In addition, by watching shows I have seen before during this time, am I doing the direct opposite of “making a difference”, (Captain Kirk’s hope for the action that leads to his demise in Star Trek Generations) and taking a more Lister in Red Dwarf sort of approach with “don’t give me that Star Trek crap. It’s too early in the morning!”?

Now as a fully subscribed member of The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club, it will come as no surprise that my response has been to come down on the side of the value of escapism. But this is because I think it is not the escapism that is the important part, but the activity itself. If these activities bring joy and happiness to a person, isn’t that valuable? It is not stepping away. It is creating space in the mind – the emotional bucket capacity I talked about in my blog Finding the right metaphors.

As a result, the person that does exist in the world, in their relationships, at work, and in general life has more energy to call on. For me, that time with Dave Lister, Jean-Luc Picard, Anakin Skywalker, Rick Deckard, Arthur Dent, Kevin Flynn, The Doctor, Sarah Conner, Wade Watts or Doctor Susan Calvin, is my capacity-making time. I wouldn’t be the contributor to my family, friends, or colleagues I am without it.

But why Sci-Fi? Why is that my escapism of choice? I once saw an interview with the creators of the ultra-successful The Big Bang Theory – the sitcom of choice for all nerds and geeks and those who love them! – which said drama/comedy is generally created by putting ordinary people in extraordinary situations. (He then followed up to say The Big Bang Theory was the reverse by putting extraordinary people in ordinary situations). The point is that the juxtaposition of the familiar and the unfamiliar is where stories can be found. The best sci-fi places relatable characters in the unusual setting but keeps them just human enough. In my case, I find the enjoyment in imagining, exploring and understanding the difference between my ordinary and the stories’ extraordinary. It makes the world bigger and more colourful.

Sci-fi is an important component of who I am. It brings me comfort, joy and sparks my imagination. I always liked space and sci-fi stories as a child, a Christmas favourite was always the original Tron, but discovering the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Red Dwarf and Star Trek in my teenage years had a profound effect on me. It made me laugh at very different things – Douglas Adams and Rob Grant / Doug Naylor are a corner stone of my sense of humour. It gave me a love of astronomy and science. It introduced me to concepts that I had never understood or seen before. It even affected my taste in music and art. (My Sci-Fi playlist on Spotify may take it to extremes but I like it and am listening to it while I write this!).

In 2011, following an impromptu visit to the British Library and a Sci-Fi exhibition that really captured me, I began a challenge of reading all the great Sci-Fi authors and the classics of the genre. That challenge now stands at 199 books read with Stories of your life and others by Ted Chiang destined to be number 200. I cannot champion enough the great stories of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Olaf Stapledon, Frank Herbert, Ursula K. Le Guin and Iain M. Banks to name just a selection. They have helped me through some difficult times in the past years, but I have also read them sat by the pool in the sunshine.

In psychology, the “self” is often described as a story we tell ourselves and that we should balance that story carefully between the past and the future, particularly to not be overwhelmed by anxiety and self-defeating narratives. My story currently is fluctuating through great change, however in this narrative, I am happy that the lead character has this wealth of imaginative stories to call on in his past. They are a source of great strength. In the end, from time-to-time, I think it is right escape into what you love and makes you smile. It makes you the most authentic version of you and, in my experience, that is always the best version.

Live long and prosper.