When Absence Is Necessary

                                                             

We don’t live in calm times and are relentlessly bombarded 24/7 with advertisements telling us to buy stuff we don’t need, with news reports of the latest buffoonery offered by our political circus and reports of the latest barbaric savagery committed in the name of GOD. Top that with the uncertainty of our jobs and health and you can understand a person wanting to hide in a cave.

                                                            

 

A few days ago, a good friend Jessica A. Walsh posted a blog titled “What Happened When My Power Went Away” Jessica is not only part of the best writers’ group ever, The South Jersey Writers’ Group, but this year, she became our Vice President. Jessica is a beautiful and sensitive person, but in this world, it can be rather overwhelming when something unsettling happens to you especially if you are a gentle soul. In her blog post, Jessica explains how an event affected her on three different planes: mentally, financially and physically.

I’m much older than Jessica and I’ve been in her exact dilemma many times, but age has a way of allowing you to let go of the guilt when you are forced to become absent from the world.  

Absence

Definition from the Oxford Dictionary: The state of being away from a place or person; an occasion or period of being away from a place or person; absence of mind Failure to concentrate on or remember what one is doing; avoidance; hiatus; truancy.

                                                

Jessica was apologizing for her disappearance. There was no need for an apology because what Jessica’s mind and body had demanded from her was a good old fashion retreat. Time out is important for survival, especially, in this world of ours where it’s fashionable to hate and to incite.

Retreat

Definition from the Cambridge Dictionary: To go away from a place or person in order to escape from fighting or danger; to go to a quiet place in order to avoid a difficult situation.

Benefits of Absence or Retreats

When I was a young girl at St. Maria Goretti High School in South Philadelphia, the nuns would take us on a Spiritual Retreat for the entire day at one of their Mother Houses in the countryside. We were teenagers who felt that a day spent in quiet contemplation sounded more like a prison sentence than a learning experience, but we were wrong. The time spent in silence gave us renewed strength.

                                                             

Later in life, I learned the benefits to a time out. I haven’t been on a spiritual retreat since high school, but I have set up a room inside my house as my little cave; a place to hide. Retreats and meditation reduce stress, allow your mind to breathe, renew energy and give you a chance to heal both mentally and physically. Like Jessica, I may hide in my little cave for days when I’m really feeling crushed by the weight of the world. I light incense, I play Hindu music, I don’t write, text, tweet or talk to anyone. My husband understands that because of my compromised immune system it is beneficial and better than any antibiotic to just let me go into cocoon mode whenever I need it.

Conclusion

I wanted Jessica to know that it’s okay to disappear. Even GOD disappeared in the desert for forty days and, he didn’t have to put up with Trump and Cruz, but HE knew what was coming down the road and he had to prepare for the journey to Calvary.

                                                              

In this age of instantaneous non-stop news, we need to take time to become absent from the world for small periods of time. Many of us can’t afford to miss work, because we have bills to pay, but we can designate a specific place in our home that is off limits to phones, television, computers and stress and just an hour in this room will start the mending. Disconnect form your cell phones and television for one night and feel the difference.

                                                             

My message to Jessica is this: don't feel guilty when you go into cocoon mode, instead, enjoy the benefits and emerge a better you. I’ll be in the cocoon next to you.

 

Steampunk Granny Interviews Co-Editor of Reading Glasses, Jessica A. Walsh

                                                                      

I’m so happy to interview this next guest. Jessica is a friend and a member of our writers’ group, The South Jersey Writers’ Group. She is also the co-editor of Reading Glasses, the Hypothetical Press Anthology. Jessica has a story in this anthology called Unquiet Mind.

When Jessica is not editing, she is an avid reader and writer of creative non-fiction. She is a Communications Manager for a non-profit in Philadelphia, PA. She lives in Southern New Jersey and escapes to the beach with her surfboard whenever possible. She has been a member of the South Jersey Writers’ Group since 2011. This is her first publication.

 

Marie Gilbert: I’m so happy to chat with you. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jessica A. Walsh: I love learning and growing, in every way possible. I am a very passionate person and need to be working toward a goal at all times, whether it’s finishing a story, losing weight or learning how to surf. I don’t do well being stagnant. Besides reading and writing, I enjoy cooking and keeping active; jogging, practicing yoga, anything that keeps me moving. I love to tell jokes that people say are pretty bad, even though I find them hysterical. I have a child’s sense of humor when it comes to jokes.

                                                               

Marie Gilbert: What inspired you to be a writer?

Jessica A. Walsh: I have loved reading as long as I can remember. I know not everyone who loves to read wants to write, but love of the word just came natural to me. Once I started writing in 3rd or 4th grade, I was praised for my ability and creativity. From then on, all of my teachers throughout the rest of my public education saw that in me and encouraged it, even giving me special writing assignments. I suppose that's what really inspired me to keep doing it. I had wonderful teachers. My oldest brother is also a very talented writer and he inspires and encourages me as well.

Marie Gilbert: What genre do you enjoy writing the most?

Jessica A. Walsh: I enjoy writing creative non-fiction most. After all, I, and the people closest to me, am the character I know best. I am naturally introspective and like to use writing to capture my life experiences and stories, while simultaneously reflecting to better understand and learn from them. It's not until you try to write down and capture all the elements of an event that you can really begin to understand and interpret them, while preserving those memories at the same time.

                                                                    

Marie Gilbert: Where did the inspiration for this story come from?

Jessica A. Walsh: Reading Glasses being a speculative fiction collection, Unquiet Mind was out of my element. I started by creating a character, Reven, whose loneliness, anger and overactive mind was familiar to me and then gave her an unreal characteristic to oblige the spec element. Everything else came from there. That made it easier for me because I was writing about realistic people and scenarios, just with an unreal disorder in an unreal setting.

                                                          

                                                              

Marie Gilbert: What are you working on now?

Jessica A. Walsh: I am very excited to be launching a new blog soon called Cracking the Nut (crackingnut.blogspot.com). I am working on content and design. I'm currently in almost a constant state of introspection while some new and exciting things are happening in my life. I want to capture those revelations and thoughts, successes and failures, and hopefully even inspire some people at the same time - all with a strong dose of humility. The name is a play on words since I am attempting to crack the nut on my suffering, while I can also be a little bit of a self-proclaimed nutcase at times haha.

Marie Gilbert: What was it like to be the co-editor of the Reading Glasses Anthology? Was it harder than you expected? Easier?

Jessica A. Walsh It was certainly an experience, that's for sure. I don't think I knew what to expect so every part of it was a surprise. I think we strongly underestimated the amount of time it would all take - scoring all of the submissions, some stories taking upward of ten hours to edit, not to mention waiting for author responses - but I also realized how much I enjoy editing. Almost every single author was pleased and appreciative with the edits to their story, which was really lovely. I was also working full-time and wrapping up my last year at Saint Joseph's University throughout almost all of this so that didn't help matters. But I am very proud of the work Amy Holiday and I did. I'm ready to work on my own writing and projects now though, with the exception of the occasional editing assignment. (I'm available!)

                                                                             

Marie Gilbert: Thank you so much Jessica for appearing on my blog and I’m sure everyone will want to read Reading Glasses and Unquiet Mind. Also, on October 24th, our writers' group held a book launch for Reading Glasses and it was a big success.