Surprise, surprise… it’s raining in Lisbon this morning. A buddy in Madrid commented that of all the times to have lousy weather in the Iberian Peninsula which is normally reknown for it’s phenomenal climate and sunshine, it had to happen when I arrived. Wind, rain, clay rain, overcast skies, I mean, I don’t want to jinx it, but all that’s missing is snow, hurricanes and tidal waves. Oh well, no worries, it’s the perfect excuse to have a second cup of coffee while enjoying my rainy day jazz.
Sounds idylic doesn’t it? Actually it would be heavenly if it weren’t for all the elephants stomping around in the hostel stairwell. Ugh, for a Sunday morning it sure is busy and incredibly noisy. I don’t know why I even bother to tread carefully while going up and down because nobody else seems to. Sigh. But I keep telling myself that this is all coming to an end soon.
I’ve always talked to my plants and pampered them with music, and today is no exception but i had to crank up the volume a bit to drown out the stampede. In a supreme effort to be zen about the whole thing, I conducted a metaphysical and existendial dialogue with my now rooting plants and we discussed the pros and cons of transient and transcendental existence in accidental dwellings. In other words: we’ll put up with this shit until we can move to a better place. There, bottom line – it doesn’t get more existential than that. This is my four years of philosophy studies at work here… I tried prayer and mass this morning, believe me, but not even my supremely disciplined and empowered self could supress the disturbance in the force. Are Klingons or the warpath again? At this point I’d even ask Khan (the Benedict Cumberbatch version) out for coffee just to ignore the oliphants. Can you tell I watched a bit too much Star Trek last night?
Many life coaches are pushing the idea of the right to disconnect during weekends, and now that I am back in the workforce, I can certainly sympathise with the concept. The movement has picked up force, with employees now clamouring for this to be incorporated in company policies worldwide. The internet and mobile phone have blurred the lines of privacy and clear delineations between private and professional lives.
Click HERE and HERE for some views out there.
There are moves within the EU to make this a general directive and quite frankly, after over 30 years since the intrusion of the work emails in private and family lives, I welcome the change. I’ve been following the developments of this on the EU level, so I am pleasantly surprised to find that Portugal, along with France is among the frontrunners in implementing the Right To Disconnect as a direct result from the Work From Home situation that emerged during the pandemic.
The pursuit of serenity has become more and more difficult with the advent of techonology that allows us to become digital nomads. On the one hand, the myriad of possibilities that have opened up that disentangle us from the desks is a welcome change, on the other hand, this is such a new field that etiquette and connectivity guidelines still remain to be defined in many countries. At the end of the day it becomes a personal choice and your ability to be mindful of your own needs for peace and quiet both in the physical and metaphyisical sense. Are we moving towards a collective mindfulness or still stuck in the mind-fool frame of mind? Disconnect from the electronic waves and get in touch with those who matter, or you want to matter more to. I for one, choose to let the rain be my soul music, and as I was advised last Friday, it is time to dance with the Lisboan sun (well, as soon as it comes out to play again).
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