Yesterday was extremely blustery. I had to go out twice to bring the bins back and push our gate into place because the wind had been playing havoc.

The second time I went out I saw my next-door neighbours (Japanese and Turkish) struggling with a huge wooden frame and a large plastic roofing panel that was still attached to it. It was part of a veranda roof that had somehow blown off another neighbour’s building — on the other side — sailed over two floors and the roof, and become snagged on an electricity cable on our side. It was very dangerous. If it had hit someone, or even a car, it could have been disastrous.

The neighbour it belonged to wasn’t home, so the three of us worked together to get it down and make things safe. Despite the strong gusts, we managed it and left everything by her front door.

A few hours later there was a knock. It was the owner, coming to apologise and to say thank you. She had checked her security camera to see how her roofing had ended up on the wrong side of the building at her front door.

I’m writing this because it felt good to help and be of service in the neighbourhood. I could easily have gone back to browsing the internet, reading about and watching things happening far away that have no real effect on my daily life. Why are we so addicted to what’s happening over there?

Yesterday’s little episode reminded me that we should focus on our doorsteps first, then our neighbours, and only then look further afield. We do that by default due to the business we run.

However, it also made me think about how much time we spend absorbed in what is happening far away — especially in countries that seem determined to pull themselves apart in public. We watch, argue, and feel involved, even though none of it helps the people living right next to us.

Meanwhile, real things are blowing off real roofs, gates are breaking, neighbours need a hand, and kids need help studying. Those are the places where our attention actually matters.