The Amazing Devil karaoke - The Old Witch Sleep And The Good Man Grace

Imperfekt Karaoke
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70 views Aug 17, 2025
https://meganbwells.substack.com/p/overthi... To my mind, this song captures the tightrope walk that I, as a mentally ill person, am constantly managing: between rest and fulfillment, between being responsible for my own needs and asking for accommodations. The two characters of the Old Witch Sleep and the Good Man Grace are, in some ways, each the opposite end of a single axis, and in some ways, each represent their own full spectrum. Mental illness—depression, anxiety, the simple fact of feeling like you don’t work the way the world thinks you should—is exhausting. And in a society obsessed with productivity, it can be hard to accept your own need for rest, especially when you seem to need more of it than other people do. Often, the first step for us crazies is to learn that rest is a right, and it’s something we owe ourselves—not for the sake of future productivity, but just because this is the only life we get, and we shouldn’t hurt ourselves to meet arbitrary standards. Learning how to rest, to embrace the Old Witch Sleep, is a crucial skill for recovery. But the other side to that coin is that it’s possible to stagnate in your exhaustion. You can become so afraid of the effort, the tiredness, that you avoid doing things you truly want to do for yourself. And so it becomes a balancing act: when to rest, and when to push through. But what if I want to be brilliant? What if I already am? On the one hand, learning how to rest and understanding when it’s necessary are important. But on the other, I can do better than artificially low expectations for myself. The Old Witch Sleep’s heart is in the right place—but she won’t acknowledge your full potential. She can’t be allowed to run the show. The “hollow folk” are everyone else, just trying to live the way they’re expected to. And they’re managing to do it. Why can’t I? Don’t compare yourself, the Old Witch Sleep says. They aren’t like you. And she’s right; they’re not—but it doesn’t mean they’re worse, or I’m better. The Old Witch Sleep’s world is comfortable, but ultimately unfulfilling. If I go with her, I won’t face the challenges required to do the things I dream of doing. There are limits to everything. Mental illness, while it’s possible to work with and around it, does pose limitations. Rest, recuperation, and understanding—grace—wouldn’t be necessary in the way that they are, otherwise. But there are people and institutions for whom that grace only goes so far. They can’t understand why you still need patience, why you still want accommodation. You seemed pretty normal for a good long time, there. Why can’t you just… keep doing that? It must be because you don’t want to. Because you’re lazy. Insisting in response that you do have limits, that they’re different than other people’s, but that they still don’t make you worthless or incapable—it takes a kind of strength that I definitely don’t always have. It’s so easy to internalize those values, to think that if you pretend to be normal for long enough, somehow you’ll stop being who you are. To stand up in the face of that sort of rejection and continue to love yourself is genuinely revolutionary. The Good Man Grace has high expectations. He knows what you’re capable of, and he’s willing to extend you a little bit of leeway (or pity) in achieving it. But ultimately, his expectations are unreasonable. For your own sake, you have to keep your boundaries firm, and not be tempted to overextend yourself. The Good Man Grace’s world is exciting and full, and teases the prospect of finally living up to societal standards, of being able to respect yourself. But it will destroy you. The Old Witch Sleep chimes back in against the Good Man Grace, reminding you that just continuing to exist in the face of these hurdles is an act of defiance. But it’s up to you to decide whether survival is all you want. Even the folk who seem to have it easier in this world still struggle, and we each choose to survive in our own way. You can’t compare your way against theirs, because we each have to find the way that works for us. And we do that by balancing rest and ambition, stretching and comfort. Neither Sleep nor Grace is running the show in here. I am. And when the inmate (hah) finally realizes they can take control of the asylum, that’s when things get good. Subscribe to my back up channel in case something happens to this one:    / @yourimperfektkaraokeaddiction   If you're feeling generous or appreciative, you can send virtual tips here: PayPal: @karaokepdx Venmo: @karaokepdx Cash App: $KaraokeAddictionPDX Imperfekt Karaoke Patreon (for PRIORITY and HIGH PRIORITY SONG CREATION): https://www.patreon.com/c/ImperfektKaraoke My actual karaoke shows are in Portland, Oregon here: http://www.karaokeaddiction.com

Imperfekt Karaoke

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