Reflections on Absence and Focus
May 23, 2024
My last blog post was on May 18th, five days ago. It is unusual for me to miss a single day, let alone five. The reason for this absence was my decision to focus entirely on an important report due this Friday. By concentrating on this one task, I found my work became more manageable. Interestingly, I also noticed that when a person focuses, their surroundings tend to fade away. This means that the individual may miss out on other happenings around them. Another observation was that no one who regularly reads my posts inquired about the missing daily updates. This, fortunately, confirms that my writings aren't as crucial to others and aren't widely read. This reinforces the idea that writing is primarily essential for the writer himself.
Now that I am resuming my writing, the question arises: where to begin? When I ponder this question, two themes immediately come to mind. First, the weather. It is warm, and storms are looming. Hurricane season is approaching, with the sea warmer than ever, which doesn't bode well. We already tasted this a couple of weeks ago due to the heavy rainfall. Warnings are being issued to school boards to revise their emergency plans. However, little is being said about cleaning out drains and other preventive measures.
The second theme is the heartbreaking stories of people living in poverty. These cases are coming closer and closer. The ones I am familiar with show that the situation is dire not only for mental health, caused by immense stress, but also for physical health, leading to issues like high blood pressure, digestive problems, and other complaints. The quality of life is poor. All of this tends to escape notice if one has the privilege to focus on one's work. Unemployment is much more than just a lack of income; it encompasses many challenges that significantly affect one's overall well-being.
Miguel Goede
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