Dustsuckers, Middle States, and Marathons [FF Vol. 26]
My writing muscles are atrophying the less frequently I use them. Somehow, staying on top of this newsletter was easier amid excursions into Patagonia, cow-feeding sessions on a Brazilian farm, and swinging from a hammock over the Amazon River than it is staying put in Buenos Aires.
That chapter spent flitting between destinations was probably busier than my current state. However, my life feels richer here in Buenos Aires despite my considerable drop in stimulating experiences and adventures (which might explain my correlated dip in writing production).
A busy life does not beget a fulfilling one.
Writing into Form
I experimented with a new writing style in my most recent travel narrative. It’s a prose I haven’t quite harnessed but had fun attempting. Dare I say, it was my favorite story to write in 2024.
Unexpectedly, this one has gotten a lot of love since publication, too. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Meditations While Meandering (August 1, 2024)
Consistency sans Friction
"This is no argument in favor of complacency. Nor do I encourage anyone to aim for less than their best any given day.
It’s a call for perfectionists, optimization-addicted automatons, and the all-in-or-all-out types to take a breath.”
The Middle Station of Life
English novelist and author of Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe on the paradox of finding familiar routines abroad (this shortly following Crusoe’s settling in Brazil from Britain):
Reflections on a Marathon
Running sucks.
It sucks because it’s difficult.
And like most difficult things, running can reveal applicable lessons to other things that suck.
This latest experience taught me five:
Told From the Road (September 26, 2024)
A young traveler and an Argentine cafe owner reflect on language, travel, and missed opportunities during their quiet encounters in Salta.
Thanks for reading Ferg’s Focus! My goal is to share the occasional glimpse of life on the road and the thoughts/lessons that come to me from it. If you learn something along the way, then I’m even better off.
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Until the next,