Breaking Inertia by Inertia
Erasmo Calzadilla
HAVANA TIMES, April 2 — I’ve gone a while without writing. I had to concentrate on coming up with a some quick pesos, which sometimes isn’t easy. As a result — being outside the realm of news, blogs, activism and reflection — I lost my momentum.
It only took a month for me to slide back into being a zombie and that alienated state in which most ordinary Cubans live – which I imagine is the same with most workers around the world. With that pause, I lost my drive, my interest and the sense of writing.
One of the advantages and attractions of a blog is the chance for others to get to know the personal life of the author. But those of us who contribute to this website and many other sites here in Cuba, we can’t afford that “luxury” of simply describing how we are.
No, we have to be careful and keep well abreast of things in the middle of this war so as not to say anything ridiculous or get ourselves or someone else in trouble.
Writing requires all that effort, not to mention the time and resources needed for a journalist or an intellectual involved in this difficult task.
For a while I took up the challenge, but at this point I’m just exhausted.
So now, with nothing to contribute concerning the national situation or any other public issue, and with the ever-present fear of screwing up, I find myself trapped in this blogger inertia.
With this diary entry I’m trying to break out of it, though my motivation remains absent.
By the way, my introduction is outdated: Now I’m 37 years old and for quite a while I haven’t been a university professor.
Erasmo,
I too will miss your perspective in your absence.
I wish things could change so that you and all Cubans could have a better life but it will take the end of the embargo and some serious reforms within the governmental processes for that and things are not moving much on lifting the embargo and only incrementally on change in the government’s way of working top down instead of bottom up .
Still, hope springs eternal . With the changing of the generations in the population that left Cuba and drives the counter-revolutionary policies in the U.S. , there are signs of moderation and the U.S economic problems may well force the government to open up relations with Cuba if just to buy the oil Cuba hopefully will be producing in a few years.
Courage.
Come back soon.
Don’t go…find your mojo. Enjoy reading your posts.
In life there is a constant dialectic between the personal and the public life, and writing is the synthesis betwixt the two. Still, it is best to let the grounds percolate, so that the coffee is not too weak. I wish I could lay hands on the screnario of Felini’s “8 1/2,” for in it the character of the critic Daumier gives a wonderful little speech on why the writer should abort most of the misformed anomalies, and only give birth to those writings which have merit. In any event, when your’re sure you have something to say, I look forward to your future diary entries
You are missed. Will be here when you get back 🙂
Take care.