The Island

The other day I was reading a book and came across the phrase “an island is a world of its own.” The book touched on the idea of the island people, while in communication with the mainland, lived following the island’s unique internal patterns.

Meaning that because of its isolation, the islander is somewhat disconnected from the sway of the outer world; behavior and attitudes on the island having a different paradigm being much more internally focused.

This internal focus, and being in the closed environment of the island, can sometimes allow minor irritants to grow out of proportion, causing a person to stress over matters which would not be an issue if they were in the more open world of the mainland.

It should be no surprise that here at TK, this island in the archipelago of the Afghanistan mountains, it can be challenging to communicate with mainlanders about frustrations unique to our deployed life here without sounding unduly downbeat and for the mainlanders, it can be difficult to understand and appreciate our islander viewpoint.

To those mainlanders out there, please be patient with your islander if their communications are sometimes seemingly negative. Like it might say on the side mirror of your car, “things are closer than they appear” - it is all a matter of perspective.

To those with me here at TK, aim to remain positive in thoughts, attitude, and communications. Keep in mind our time, and sometimes our perspective, is limited here on the island.