What to make of Afghanistan

In which mindfulness practice reveals an unexpected insight

I've noticed some internal discomfort around news about Afghanistan.

This centres a bit on realising how far Afghanistan had slipped from my mind and what a miserable experience my current news consumption offers. Also, squeamish feelings about people so frightened of remaining somewhere that they'll die trying to cling on to departing aircraft. I also notice gladness that my daughter lives in Cheshire rather than Helmand Provice.

But the other vaguely stressful aspect is not really having an opinion other than how bad the situation appears. Which actually isn't even an opinion really, more of a feeling.

These brief observations aren't about Afghanistan. The post is about noticing the comfort that flows from knowing where you stand on something. And discomfort in the absence of that.

It's kind of reassuring to be confident that you know what's what. Bad things happen in the news and you stroke yourself with the thought that if you were more influential they wouldn't have happened. Because you know all about it. You have an opinion. If only the powers that be were as good or smart as me. Etc

I'll write more on this over time. But for now I'll also flag a sense I have that this is one of the (perverse) incentives for being on social media. Twitter and Facebook in particular.

Aside from all the obvious and oft-observed stuff around validation, positive strokes, getting things off your chest, having a voice, bearing witness to history etc there's also this fuzzy feeling of confidence flowing from articulating a coherent opinion and seeing it written down. So that it's real and represents some aspect of you.

It seems (again) to be ego-driven. Someone like me...educated, articulate, reasonably intelligent...knows what they think about Afghanistan. And I don't. My ego is going nuts about this.

This ignorant person is not who I am (says the ego).

Except that it is.

I have no idea what would make the life of your average ordinary Afghan national as good as mine (a reasonable measure of OKness in this life, I think). What would have needed to happen before or what would need to happen now. No idea.

It's even difficult to write that sentence.

That's how hard it is not to succumb to the seduction of certainty.