Over sensitivity to locality vs Over sensitivity over long distances

[Gagis]

The balance between local and global has always bothered me and got worse after my breakdown.

 

Most of the time these things are quite stable, but when I become too sensitive, my filter goes, I start to believe I am the centre of the universe or at least the globe, and that everything relates to me in either a positive or negative way, usually negative.

 

I have found that cutting off long distance interactions has helped me to focus on the here and now somewhat, and remain stable, but sometimes I think that I should reach for things that are further away in recognition of my roots.

 

This invariably leads to a return to instability.

 

What are other people's experiences with this dilemma, being of somewhere and not at the same time?

 

Thank you.

[Kitty Tantrum]

I find that as I get older and more saddled with immediate responsibilities (raising children, householding, etc.), I have less and less bandwidth for long-distance anything. It's one of the many reasons I ended my last relationship. I've also cut way back on keeping up with national/global news and events, and to a large degree have distanced myself from friends and family who don't live nearby. It's hard because these days everything is so spread out. My mother and my childhood best friend, for example, are more dear to me than most people - but it's difficult to maintain an active relationship with either of them because they both live hundreds of miles away.

 

There's a lot of time and energy that has to go into bridging that distance, even with modern communications technology. Some folks are well-suited to that... I'm not one of them. Reaching across that distance is easier when I'm less taxed by my more immediate obligations, but I often find that retreating into local existence is necessary for stability and sanity.

 

Global focus is particularly bad in terms of wanting to feel like I'm "making a difference" of any sort. I think that unless you command a vast amount of resources/influence, the best use of your time is serving and strengthening your local family and community.