Stoicism and Job hunting

It can happen to any of us. That sudden meeting you are called into without notice, or in my case a teams invitation from Human Resources seemingly out of the blue. Except it wasn’t. My former employer gave the employees and program offices plenty of notice, that force reductions were in progress. Although a bit hurtful when my turn came, it was not really surprising to hear what no one wants to hear….we are downsizing and your position is being eliminated.

I put in 22 years with my former employer and that kind of longevity is now unheard of in the work world. A relic of the past where you did your 20 years and got the “gold watch” and retired. I picked a black one on my 20th anniversary, just because I like the color black. I consider it an accomplishment that I managed to do so well for so long. But now it is time to move on.

For some that is going to cause a lot of fear and uncertainty, but it doesn’t have to.

The Stoic Seneca is wrote: “We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” There is a lot of wisdom in that one sentence. Another way of looking at it is; suffering is optional. Losing a job can be a somewhat like losing some someone you care about. Putting effort into a career especially a long career and then losing it is going to challenge you in ways you may not be prepared for. However there is hope even in the worst of situations.

I suggest you take some time in between your job searches, resume building and polishing, interviews and the like to read the Stoic masters such as Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus. These men went through hell and used the philosophy of Stoicism to get them through the worst that life can bring to us. These men endured wars, pandemics, losing loved ones to disease and in Seneca’s case, slavery. Far worse than losing your job don’t you think?

Perspective. Things may be looking bleak, but just how much of that is in your head? Have you taken stock of what you can do in your individual circumstances? Or like many people right now in the midst of a world wide pandemic, are you sitting at home frustrated that you were “kicked to the curb” by a company that you did so much for?

You have realize that what happened isn’t personal, it’s business. There are other things for you to do, other employers and opportunities. But you have to do the work, and in order to do that work, your attitude can’t be that of a victim. Stoicism will help you tremendously if you not only read it but internalize this practical way of thinking.

I will conclude this post from The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius: You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

Be well,

JP

It’s time to let go

In this time of uncertainty I don’t think that we need another reminder to wash our hands, cover your cough and social distance. What may be in order for some, is to let go. Let go of preconceptions of others, anger at yourself and others and maybe use this time of imposed isolation to slow down and think about life a little bit.

Whichever faith based system or don’t follow doesn’t matter in this context. How you have acted towards others in the past, no longer matters either. What matters now is how we are treating both ourselves and others.

With the world wide shut down due to COVID-19, we have the time and opportunity to look within, to examine our beliefs, speech patterns and opinions. Ask yourself, how am I treating myself? Do you take time for basic self-care, or do you go as fast  as you can through life without concern for the consequences of your actions? Are you kind to the people you meet who can do nothing for you? When you don’t agree with someone else’s opinion, do you loudly voice it, or sit behind your phone or keyboard and passively criticize those who would share?

I’m not trying to lay a guilt trip on anyone reading this, really. People are scared of something that they can’t see or fight, only try their best to avoid. There is an opportunity at this critical time to change, and change can happen enmass, or just one person at a time. In this case some changes are going to be forced from the outside, and some will be voluntary. Be flexible in your approach as the days of rigid patterns must be set aside for a new paradigm.

Here are some thoughts from the Stoic philosophy to help you consider the “new normal”.

The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately. Seneca

We never know when our life will be at an end. Live the best that you can, our time here is short.

Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power. James Allen

Don’t go out and hoard supplies, think of others and their needs. Take care of yourself and family, but remember others too.

Relentlessly prune bullshit, don’t wait to do things that matter, and savor the time you have. Paul Graham

Take some time to figure out what isn’t working in your life, what bad habits that you might want to rid yourself of and throw them out of your daily life. It doesn’t have to be a painful process, but one small step everyday makes a difference. You only get one shot at this life so make it count.

If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining. Marcus Aurelius

So many of us have grown accustomed to having everything at our fingertips, food, entertainment, etc. If this virus business has shown me anything, is that we don’t face enough adversity in our lives. Admit it, we as a society and a world community are soft. If you find yourself complaining about not being able to get toilet paper for instance, figure out an alternative. Use your intellect and common sense to forge some self reliance. Stop complaining and “roll” with this until it is over, but once it is…be careful about falling back into old lazy habits. Being too comfortable is a slow death in itself.

Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. Viktor Frankl

If you find yourself getting angry at something someone has done or something that you hear or see in the news, take a moment or ten, calm yourself, you don’t have to get upset. You’re a human being with a mind, you have the capacity to control yourself.

The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable. Seneca

All of us in life are subject to two categories….

1. Things we can not control.
2. Things we can control.

People worry all the time about things they can’t control, viruses, the weather, civil unrest, food shortages, where the hell is all of the toilet paper, the list goes on forever. However; the list of things you can control is fairly short. You can only control your emotions, thoughts and reactions to the people, circumstances and things that happen in life. That is all. No more, no less.

I hope that I have given whoever reads these concepts on how to deal with the challenging days we are encountering now, and the days to come some ideas, comfort and strength.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones, help those that you can and try your best to be a decent human being while doing it. Not everyone has it as good as you do. It is all in your perspective

Be well.

~ JP

One last thing….

“All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.”

― J.M. Barrie , Peter Pan

Form

What form will I take in the next life? What kind of person will I be? A lawyer, thief, soldier or maybe a farmer, addict or killer.

Thinking that you have been more in another life than you are in this life, are the thoughts of a fool. All that is, moves and changes constantly as its soulful journey fuels the artwork that is creation itself. You are the unique and authentic expression of life.

The power of the universe resides in each one of us whether we be animal, plant, rock or beast. It is from the same Earth that we spring forth, a feminine cradle of life that flows in each of us; a river flowing throughout time and space, life its companion.

Tread lightly, not only for the land but for yourself. The generations to come depend on the imprint we leave behind us, be it a paradise or a garbage dump.

Harm none, revere life of all kinds, make choices that matter for those that await. Be at peace, first within your own soul, reaching out only when ready to engage the flow.

Evolution of thought and deed, progress in the change that this world needs. Endless chatter yields to the calm for it has no choice but to keep moving to the cycles set forth by God, Nature, you pick your label.

Fortune lies not in money or some such trivial pursuit, but in the experiences that make us who we are, be it a lawyer, thief, soldier or maybe a farmer, addict or killer.

JP ~ August 2015

There is no fate

There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. As hard as it is for some to hear, it is just that simple. We control our fate. The small choices that we make everyday that end up compiling into the larger choices in the long run determine our destiny.

There are no cosmic forces to balance the scales of what you do or do not do. The Universe doesn’t care if you are a good person or a bad person. Fate is what fate is. Or more precisely, your fate in the end is what you make it.

I know you may be thinking that this all sounds fatalistic, but is it really? I find it empowering to know that I am in complete control of my choices. When to get up, when to go to bed, how to take care of my health and how to treat others, and how I want to be treated, are all choices that determine our “fate” in the long run.

Giving your personal power away to the “fates” is simplistic and lazy. You are in control of your attitude, actions and choices, no one else. Giving yourself permission to try something new, to fail,  or to succeed are all actions that will lead to a much better outcome for you in the end.

Failure is not final, it is a learning experience. Failure is finding out who you really are. Failure is good, for if you never failed it would be an indicator that life is too easy. When life is easy we become passive, soft and ineffectual.

So many of us go through life with blinders on, not planning more than to the next meal time or when the next television show comes on. We forget that our time here is limited and then end up at the mercy of others decisions and actions, all the while decrying how unfair life has treated us. Fate is something that we determine, not God(s) or any outside forces.

No one owes you anything. Decide now to stop being a victim, set boundaries and learn to say NO to those who would waste your precious time. Your life and fate are in the hands of the person most qualified to determine what is best for you….and that is you.

You must show up for life though gentle reader, no one else is going to fix this for you. That is your power to determine your “fate”, get up, show up and make positive decision every single day. It matters not how old you are or what you have been through.

Every single day starts anew, each time you awaken you are presented with a choice. I have talked enough. Go change your fate, you have the power. Exercise your sovereign right as a human being and move forward in a positive direction.

~JP~

Why do you do it

Why do you do what you do? It is for yourself? It is it for others? Is it for your boss or employer? Have you ever asked yourself, as I am sure that many of us have….why the hell am I doing this?

It is a valid question, a question that you should ask yourself from time to time always being mindful of the encroachment of ego into your answers. If  the answer to the question is from the ego, it may look something like this; “because no one else can do it better than me”

Rubbish. Anyone can be replaced, it happens everyday.

If you answer the question to from non-egotistic state of mind, it may resemble something akin to this; “The effort is enough and I am not attached to the outcome”.

Better. However; the honesty in this answer takes a lot more thought and effort to be true.

Just how much of what we do is ego driven? I would say a most of it, because ego has a way of inflating our self-importance when we don’t put it in check. Everything we do affects something or someone else, once that activity or work is out in the world, we no longer hold sway over it. It can be critiqued or criticized, there is nothing we can do about that.

Let’s say you have a project or a process at work that you worked on really hard for a long period of time and it happens to turn out really well. But your employer doesn’t give you the “positive” feedback that you expected. Do you get angry and rant to your boss that you worked really hard on said project? Do you even go so far as to “demand” that you should be recognized and “hint” that maybe you should get a bonus or a raise for your “extra” efforts?

That my friends is ego talking loud and clear. I challenge you to look at this simple example from a different angle. Approach it as a source of personal pride in your own ability to do a good job, to overcome adversity, to teach and to learn…but more importantly as an opportunity to NOT BE ATTACHED TO AN OUTCOME. Look at your struggle from the perspective of “the effort was enough”.

I’m sorry/not sorry to say this to anyone who may read this who still thinks that others owe you, simply because you try. As Depak Chopra once said on national television, “The Universe doesn’t care”.  Life does not care if you are having a bad day. Life doesn’t care if you are in financial straits. Life doesn’t care if you are having problems with your wife or husband. “The Universe doesn’t care”

Harsh but it is the way it is. In order to manage this paradigm successfully you must change your mindset. If not, you risk being or continuing to be a victim. If you do your best and you accomplish the task at hand, then let that be enough. Let go of the outcome. Sometimes you will fail. A quote by the fictional character Jean Luc Picard from the television show Star Trek The Next Generation is precisely what I am getting at here, “Sometimes you can do everything right and still lose, that’s life”.

The difference between being a victor or a victim is mostly a change in perspective and attitude. Change the things you can, and if you can’t then let it be. Life isn’t fair. Why would you make it worse by trying to change things you cannot? Ego. Check your ego at the door folks, it just makes things worse. Sometimes all of the “wanting” and “needing” in the world isn’t going to change anything.

Let your effort be enough.

 

~JP~

Stop complicating everything

Humans have a very bad habit. We take the simple and make it complicated. An example that I find humorous, speaking on the subject of simplicity, is a quote that has been attributed to Thoreau….. Henry David Thoreau, once wrote to his teacher, Ralph Waldo Emerson…. “Simplify, simplify, simplify.” Emerson wrote back, “Don’t you think one ‘simplify’ is enough”?

This statement illustrates my point. We make everything in our lives too complicated. We complicate our jobs, our homes and relationships, not to mention our interactions with others. Human intercommunication until the last few years been a mostly verbal (phone calls) or face to face encounters.

In the 20th and 21st century’s we have text, email, Facebook, Instagram, Snap chat, the list goes on and on. All wonderful time-saving ways to disseminate information. However; in this dizzying variety of technology that allows us to communicate to thousands instantly, we have lost the human element of just simply talking to each other.

I as much as anyone am guilty of having sent a text or email that wasn’t really what I wanted to say. The delivery not as well stated as it needed to be, because I hurried through the thought and writing process that honest communication takes. In the end I have hurt those that I care about the most. Simply due to the fact I didn’t have the conversation, but instead sent an electronic communication. I did not take into account how my words might impact another person before hitting the send button.

Funny as it sounds complicating things is simple. It is frankly too easy to over think a problem and then go to the internet and find 15 solutions to that problem. When admittedly a few minutes of contemplation or verbal/face to face communication with another person, may really be the answer. At the very least you can get going in the right direction.

Restraint demands that we slow down. Slowing our minds and bodies and taking our eyes off of a screen such as your phone, computer, T.V. and allowing ideas and solutions to come from our inner-selves, our innate intelligence. A walk in nature is a great way slow the “monkey brain” down, allowing the real you to come forth.

The next time you feel stressed and emotional, hit your “pause button” and try not to find a solution right away. Sit with your emotions for a while and ask yourself questions. Inquiry’s such as “How am I going to deal with this?” and “What are the impacts on others if I enact this solution”? Listen to your own inner wisdom. The answers will come to you in due time. Trust yourself and don’t over complicate the answers you receive. Then you may act not from emotion but from wisdom. It’s that “simple”.

 

~JP~

 

The State of Affairs

I’m not one to publicly post anything about politics but this time I think I will make an exception. For the last two years I have watched the war or words, false stories, anger, protest and physical abuse of people exercising their first amendment rights go on. Yet I have said nothing of my opinion, but only to my wife and co-workers.

I will state upfront for anyone who reads this. I am a conservative and I did vote for President Trump. Do I like everything that he has done? Have I agreed with some of his personal behavior and the way he speaks to others? No.

That being said, I am one that always looks for results. Our economy is better than it has been since President Reagan was in office, the stock market is doing well and there are more jobs available for anyone who wants to work. To me those are results that speak for themselves.

Regardless of your political leanings one way or the other, ask yourself a question. Are you doing better financially than you were even two years ago? If not maybe you haven’t taken advantage of some of the benefits of a growing economy. Remember no political figure (notice I did not say leader) has all the answers and is not going to make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time. They are people just like you and me, with their own agendas. That agenda is not always what is stated to the constituents and voters at primary and general election times. Sad but true and shown to be the case again and again over time.

Trends are what matters and that is why we have elections. If you don’t like a political figure you can vote them out of office and elect the person who you think will do a better job. What a wonderful system a representative republic is! Try that in a communist, fascist or socialist system and you may lose something important, like your life.

Each of us must look into our hearts and decide for ourselves where we want our county to go. Each vote matters and I suggest that you read about history, not only American history but World history as well. Look for trends, which civilizations failed, and why? Which societies thrived and still thrive, and why? What are the reasons and how did the people of those nations influence the outcomes? What factors matter?

I think it is safe to say that extreme views such as communism, fascism and socialism have failed over and over again. Why? Because they don’t take into account the individual citizen and their worth, other than being a tool of the state. Don’t believe me? Pick up a book from your local library, Amazon etc, and read, not just one book but many. Extreme views always fail. Always.

The world is wondrous place that consists of more than just the United States of America. Americas actions by our political figures have an impact on the rest of the world. Every nation including the United States of America has the right to defend its own borders. Every nation has the right to set its own policies. Every nation has the right to defend itself from outside influence or attack. This is what is known as nation sovereignty.

Take some time to read, and to think without the influence of angry voices on the TV, internet and radio. Decide for yourself what kind of people you want in your local, regional and national offices. Which way do you want history to go? You do have a say, a say that many Americans seem to forget they have, a right that was and is soaked in the blood of those who would defend it.

Madness

What has happened to the country I grew up in? When I was younger people took great pride in being patriotic Americans. Now we are a country divided along political lines.

This division of conservative and liberal is really a division of city dwellers and those who live in rural areas. I know of what I speak, for I was raised in a small isolated town, and now live within throwing distance of one of the most liberal cities in the US outside of California.

I understand that this is a simplyfication of this line of thought because there are many conservatives that live in the cities of our country.

When did being a patriotic American become a crime? When did simply wanting to have a safe homeland for all of us become something to be shouted down and attacked for?

The courts and the educational system has produced a couple of generations of people now who do not have critical thinking skills, who would have and should have at the very least questioned the media, politician’s and the courts motives.

Instead more and more of us were forced to the cities just to make a living. The thing that I have noticed about this is that when you get large groups of people together (cities) they go mad.

Madness is what is happening. My proof? Run away vagrant populations in most of our cities. City councils more than willing to tax large business, the very ones who are employing hundreds of thousands of people. Then blaming those very businesses for creating the vagrant problem.

Note I did not use the word homeless. In my opinion homelessness is a temporary condition when people run into hard times and need a little help. I understand the difference because for a short time in the early 80’s my wife and myself were without housing. (homeless)

We did not sit on the street and panhandle, harass or assault anyone. (vagrant) We got busy and pulled ourselves back together and asked for help and assistance which was paid back in full.

Madness and mental illness over runs our towns, cities and public spaces and it is allowed by the political system who professes that these people are in need of help. Ok I will admit that most are in need of help, however over and over again I see people sleeping in the street, along railways etc. in what I can only describe as madness. The true homeless, the people who don’t stay that way long, they take the help provided and they get back on their feet as soon as they can.

Vagrants continue on with deficating in the street and refuse help as they take over sidewalks of our cities with tent mansions filled full of mental illness and drug use, refusing all outreach by those well meaning.

Madness allowed by the very governments that talk about compassion and inclusiveness. It’s a lie designed to pull on the heart strings of those very people who were not taught how to reason and think critically.

Where this will end I have no idea, but for me and my family we are leaving the cities as soon as possible.

JP.

Ok, so what comes next?

 

Don’t let anyone tell you that they know what happens after your bodily processes cease to function. No one really knows, but some who have “passed through the veil” and returned, have seen a glimpse.

 

Some see God, some see deceased relatives welcoming them to heaven. Then some see a dark place, a place of rest…oblivion. Those people’s stories are what I am interested in. Why is their experience with death so different than the souls that see God and heaven? I have a theory; the individuals that find that place of oblivion are at peace with death. They know that everyone and everything is subject to entropy.

 

Entropy, it is not just a destroyer but a recycler or sorts. Entropy is an “inevitable truth” of things. There is more to the story as you will see. Entropy works along the opposite line as well. Death, Destruction, the passage of time, an instrument of Entropy/Life, growth, development, reproduction, old age (if you are lucky) and Death that gives life to other beings. Trees grow up and take in the nutrients of their fallen ancestors. Yes the circle of Life is driven by Death and Death is driven by Life.

 

Humans are afraid of Death because of its seeming permanence. We spend so much time as a race running from Death, all the while knowing in our hearts no matter what religious or spiritual belief that we may hold dear to us…that Death will outpace us someday and we will submit to the final embrace. Religion is based on the fear of Death. The question is not how we should prepare for Death and the afterlife, but how are you living today?

 

Are you a decent human being? Do you try to help others when you can? Do you take care of your family? Do you show loyalty to your friends and loved ones? Friends that is all that we can do as people. Do the best you can every day and if you can make a difference in someone’s life. Be the superhero for the person that needs it. We are only here for a short time. Examine how you feel about Death. Don’t shy away, talk to Death. Make it your friend and hang out with it. Death isn’t to be feared any more than Life is.

 

Entropy is inevitable, make a peace treaty with it now while you still have a say in at least your part of the relationship. Maybe if you find the reasons you are afraid to die, then you might find a more compelling reason to live a full life.

~JP~

Manipulation

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“There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”

 

~ Miyamoto Musashi ~

 

The modern life with all of its wisdom as wonderful as it can be at times is hollow. Advertising agencies, government, public institutions and the like would have you believe that you have to seek all of your answers and information from them. When you seek “your” truth by looking outside of self (heart-self), you become a volunteer (notice I did not say victim), nay a willing participant in manipulation and hypnosis.

Notice how you feel after watching a television commercial. Do you want what they are advertising? Are you hungry after that burger commercial? Are you feeling a sense of discontent? Do the words or images go through your mind like a song stuck in your head? Congratulations! The advertisers of said product have hooked you. They manipulated your attention; put you into a suggestable state of mind with a catchy tune and bright flashy colors, and you never even noticed.

 

Now imagine if you will a young child maybe 2-4 years old. That young child is still developing mentally as well as physically. A precious child, which we as parents unknowingly throw to the wolves of consumerism every time we let them watch television or go on the internet without supervision.  That young child will be bombarded by thousands of advertisements and influences blasting through our televisions until they are adults. All the while a lesson is being taught…consume.

 

Manipulation comes from outside of us and television and the internet are just two of the newest and sadly most effective ways to influence and manipulate the masses. Stop participating in the manipulation of your life. Stop believing everything that you are told without thought. Stop looking to politicians to fix your problems. Wake up! The politicians and media want you to stay asleep; that way the manipulation is easier and you feel nothing.

 

You are the only one that can change your life, by work, by struggle; by thought and deep consideration of what is “your” truth and what it means to you. Seek nothing outside of yourself.

 

JP