14 One Sheep, Two Sheep

One sheep, two sheep

Sydney |

Australia

English

Behind the scenes

This text was born from a sleepless night, likely intensified by jet lag while I was travelling in Australia. Those moments when fatigue is clearly there and the body is asking to stop, yet it is impossible because the mind becomes uncontrollable – by turns creative, serious, accusatory, mocking…
Thoughts begin to spin, drifting without any control from one subject to another: the state of the world, wars, the climate, our own contradictions. A dizzying moment when everything suddenly feels immense… and we feel very small.

In these suspended hours, reflections can seem futile and questions almost absurd. The text follows this path: starting with big questions, only to return in the end to simple things that are within our reach.

And then, as often happens during sleepless nights, the mind eventually tires itself out.

Echoes of the world

In the English-speaking world, it is said that to fall asleep, you simply need to count sheep: one sheep, two sheep… The phrase is simple, almost childlike.

In Australia, this image takes on a particular resonance. The country has tens of millions of sheep – far more than its number of inhabitants. In these vast landscapes, they almost become part of the horizon.

Australian English itself favours simplicity and shortcuts: afternoon becomes arvo, breakfast becomes brekkie, barbecue becomes barbie. A direct, relaxed language that seems to go straight to the point.

One sheep, two sheep…