Happy 2026 everyone and I’m Scott Savoy kicking things off for the new year.
We at Sterling Creations hope that all of our readers had a wonderful festive holiday season and are now ready to get down to business.
So to start things off our president Donna J. Jodhan shares her perspective on more awareness needed.
Donna wants to hear from you.
Send her your thoughts to donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca
Enjoy your weekend.
+++++++++++++++
More Awareness Needed
By Donna J. Jodhan
We are living in a world where iDevices and screens have become near-permanent fixtures in our daily lives. From the moment we wake up to the last minutes before sleep, our attention is increasingly consumed by notifications, apps, and endless scrolling.
While technology has brought us closer in many ways, it has also distanced us from something essential — awareness.
We are not listening enough.
We are not reading with the full attention we once gave to a single sentence, a paragraph, or a message. Too often, we skim emails, missing key information and context. We misinterpret messages, overlook details, and create confusion — all because we didn’t truly read or listen.
When someone speaks to us, how often are we really present? Our eyes might flicker up from the screen momentarily, our heads nod reflexively, but the message doesn’t land. We’re half-engaged, more absorbed by the digital world in our palms than the real people before us.
This isn’t just a bad habit — it’s a growing problem. Communication thrives on attention, and attention is becoming a scarce resource.
iDevices, as brilliant as they are, should not be allowed to dominate every interaction. There needs to be a shift — a conscious effort to prioritize real connection over constant connectivity.
So what’s the call to action?
We need more awareness.
More awareness in our conversations. More presence in our reading. More mindfulness in our listening. We must reclaim our attention from the devices that are constantly vying for it and learn to give it — fully — to the moments and people that truly deserve it.
Awareness isn’t just a skill — it’s a practice. And in today’s world, it might just be the most important one we can cultivate.
I’d like to leave you with this for your consideration.
A dimly lit city street at twilight. In the center, a person stands holding a bright lantern—its warm light illuminating only a small circle around them. Surrounding the person are figures fading into the shadows, barely visible—representing issues or causes that are overlooked or ignored (e.g., climate change, mental health, discrimination, etc.).
Above them, faint words and symbols float in the darkness—each symbolizing different social, environmental, or health concerns. The overall feeling is that of partial clarity, suggesting that while some progress has been made, most of the landscape remains in obscurity.
In the background, a billboard reads:
“See what’s in the dark. Speak what’s unheard.”
— highlighting the central call to action: raising awareness.
Image = A person in a hoodie stands in the center of a dimly lit street at night, holding a lantern that casts a small pool of light around them, while shadowy human figures stand motionless in the background. Above the central figure, bold white text reads: ‘See what’s in the dark. Speak what’s unheard.’ Faint symbols and words like ‘CLIMATE’, ‘MENTAL HEALTH’, ‘DISCRIMINATION’, and ‘POVERTY’ float in the dark background, suggesting hidden or overlooked societal issues. The atmosphere is somber and mysterious, emphasizing themes of awareness and advocacy.
To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit www.donnajodhan.com
