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Abstract

May</li><li>preparing an application for a coaching certification</li></ul>All of these tasks were stimulated by the productivity urge.I was overloading myself. Also, I noted with more than a hint of regret that many of these quests to be productive were putting undue pressure on others to be productive too.It was time to be less productive.I set about culling my list.<h1 id="47d5">Forgiveness</h1>Let’s be real for a second. There’s a pandemic out there. We’re all in quarantine. A lot of people have lost their jobs and even those of us lucky to still be working have all but lost the structure to our days and weeks.News cycles are punishing. Everything takes more effort. Energy levels are low. Mood can be low too. It is not a time to overload: it is a time for self-care.That can actually mean doing less. And that is ok.I began cancelling things. I cancelled the webinar on remote working. My friend who was organising it with me immediately said thank you.I postponed the second work-related webinar. Two work colleagues agreed it was a good idea.Launching the new Medium Publication is still an ambition, but I am taking my foot off the gas with that. It can happen later in the year. I forgive myself.I am also taking the pressure off myself to write at all. I still get huge enjoyment out of writing for Serious Scrum, but my inspiration is lower, and that is ok: it always ebbed and flowed. I forgive myself for my lower rate of publication.

Illumination is a new project for me. I have no idea how much I will write here and, you know what, I forgive myself for that uncertainty as well.Writing this feels confessional and unusual for me. It is not how I normally write. But it feels good. As I write, I forgive myself for over-sharing.I hope others will recognise something in my story and perhaps begin to forgive themselves for doing less too.<h1 id="87bd">Distraction</h1>It’s probably fair to point out: I didn’t cancel everything.The meet-up in May was a request from a friend and the topic is one I’ve written ab

Options

out already, so I’m going to continue with that. My friend did ask me this weekend if I was still ok to do it, and I had an opportunity to say no. For once, I didn’t automatically dismiss the idea of saying no. I forgive myself for thinking about saying no.Also, I continue to be inspired to apply for a coaching certification. This is a long-term ambition of mine, and there is no time-sensitivity to the application process. I choose to take that pressure off myself now, and I also choose to forgive myself for taking my own sweet time with it.I allow myself these distractions because they are meaningful to me.Also, without the overload of other tasks, I can do these at a pace that makes more sense to me.<figure id="20f5"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*IiUm2PXzVt6r4zhg"><figcaption>Flight Safety Instructions</figcaption></figure><h1 id="e2b3">Moving forward, one step at a time</h1>You do not have to be productive.You need to care for yourself so that you can care for others. Watch out for the to-do list and that feeling of being a little overwhelmed. It can creep up on you.Forgive yourself for taking on less. It’s ok.Forgive yourself for your low energy. It’s ok.Forgive yourself for your low mood or for those days when you don’t want to do anything at all.It’s ok to not be ok.Flight safety instructions tell us:<blockquote id="a104">“If you are travelling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person.” (Source: <a href="https://activerain.com/blogsview/2535480/put-your-own-oxygen-mask-on-first">Active Rain</a>)</blockquote>Self-care means that, rather than feeling pressured to be more productive, you might need to go out for a walk instead.By taking on less and looking after yourself, you will put your figurative oxygen mask on. This will help you to breathe better.First things first. Breathe.If you can, cancel the things you don’t need to do right away.It’s ok. You can forgive yourself.</article></body>

To The Filipino Youth

An Adaptation of “A La Juventud Filipina” by Othniel

Prologue

Are they dead? Are they in hiding? Do they even know what is coming? Where have you gone, O youth of the Orient? Do you not hear Pearl’s lament?

Who will once more sing of the color’s march — standing ground with soldiers’ hearts? Has the lineage of patriotic youth ended, and heroes’ sacrifice of revolutions wasted?

Order 66

Generations before us responded to the ink’s call. The pixel beckons now, and we’re occupied with a video troll! Engulfed in the system are we, young Padawans? “Execute Order 66,” and The Jedi fall into a trance.

Listen well to the tune of your songs, and listen closely. What influence of character, outlook, and wisdom do they carry? Such words weaved to make harmony, woefully, are nothing but a response to materialism and sensuality.

Rampant Culture

Where art thou, O youth, the hope of the nation? They who wake with an altruistic passion — They who manage time spent on manga, ML, and Korean Drama, They, who are intellectual and respectful to authority, “sana”*.

*The word “sana” is a Filipino term we use for “I hope so,” or “hopefully”.

Where is self-control, young ones? Will you wait for marriage before romance? Yes, pharmacies provide solutions — an alternative. Yet Trust and Durex earn as you heave.

Counsel From The Ages

Come. Neglect not the counsel of the wise. Lest the breath of proverbial wisdom dies — and you left knocking at her door; crying, “Is there yet counsel anymore?”

Shall Keller rise and help you see? Must Rizal complete a trilogy? Are Solomon’s proverbs that empty? Who shall speak so that you listen finally?

Wisdom Calls From The Streets

Sobs and wailing, have you not heard — of the womb that conceived and the arms that cared? They gave you instructions, but you were hard-headed, so many times you call from your “hospital bed”.

Hence, O youth, ponder thy ways, the present, the past, and the future you face. I will say this again, I will say this with grace, Heed wisdom’s call, young ones, with a tight embrace.

See the spoken poem on Youtube: A La Juventud Filipina (Original Spoken Version) See the original poem in Filipino on Medium: A La Juventud Filipina (Original Written Version) See the Spanish translation on Medium: A La Juventud Filipina (Spanish Translation)