Monday 9 April 2012

Man in the Mirror

I am a kind, courteous person with a raging sensitivity for all existence. My heart bleeds involuntarily to events I have no control over, my soul cries at the thought of injustice, harm and misfortune. I am truly there for my fellow man when I am needed with all the love and support I can afford at their mercy...


..I am also, however, quite a busy person with a lot of responsibilities on my head. I struggle to express emotion, love and dependence as I have been brought up to face matters without letting the small matter of "how I may feel about it", get in the way. Lastly, importantly and apologetically I also tend to get quite angry, rather quickly. I apologise for this as it is beyond my control..it could be for a multitude of reasons, or for no valid reason at all. I think of anger as unannounced therapy, a sort of..."let me grit my teeth for a little while" if you will.


Judging by the difference in volume between the above paragraph and the first, I can already begin to see the disparity between me and the man in the mirror. It is very easy to take a Michael Jackson approach to the remainder of this post and quote Gandhi to encourage people to "be the change they way to see in the world"  but I won't...


...because selfishly, this post is about Me Plc.


Sod the world, forget its problems, ignore that there is anything going on other than the blood flowing between your heart and mind.


STOP and PAUSE


This is about Legacy. When people interact with you, whether for the first time or the last, what side of the mirror to they get to meet? 


Do you introduce them to the fundamental you, stellar values, maturity and unwavering sensitivity? Or do they meet the lesser reflection, who "deep down" is a wonderful person. The truth is in most cases you only have one opportunity to make that decision. Dont be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve. Yes it will undoubtedly make you feel vulnerable, some people may not welcome it as sincerely but you have shifted all external evil from your character. 


Despite its deep intricacy, the human mind is very black and white. When analysing people, we seldom give due credit to their surrounding environment or circumstances, though some may argue that 90% of what we experience is a direct product of exactly that. 


So I ask you, is it easier to change the perception of all humankind or just your own actions. Do not associate what is happening in your life with how you interact with people, there is NO excuse for it, and ultimately you are doing yourself a diservice...Go on, start now, what's the worst that can happen, you will impart love? sensitivity? concern?....friendliness?


And then sit and think...that was a pretty selfless act of selfishness.



Thursday 5 April 2012

Macro vs. Micro


Anybody that has ever studied economics will be familiar with the idea of distinguishing events between those that are Macroeconomics (large, widespread issues) and Microeconomics (smaller, specifically magnified issues).


The same can be said for our individual lives. There are values, issues and concepts that form a part of our fundamental existence and then there are day to day issues that have a quick sand like effect on our physical and mental wellness. 


..Why is this?


Economists will argue that the macro/micro relationship is interdependent and the effect of one is directly correlated to the other. Fundamentally,  the relationship is both interdependent and complimentary where microeconomist's analyse the economy from the bottom up, macroeconomists analyse from the top down. 


So how can this parallel be drawn to the institution of Me plc? Well, let us assume that within Me Plc, my heart is the "microeconomy" and our mind the "macroeconomy". On any given day, Me Plc is faced with a relative scale of heart-break, ranging from deep sorrow to destructive euphoria...I unconsciously live every waking business day in the Microeconomy:


- Happy/Sad conversations
- Good/Bad day in the office
- Pointless debate
- Financial stress/Financial comfort


STOP and PAUSE


Without giving economics too much credit, the relationship between the micro and the macro is supposed to be positively correlated - but based on the above, doesn't it seem as though we only analyse our own economy using a bottom-up approach?


What can "living in the Macro" change for your daily life? Surely your sense of perspective will greatly alter? Maybe you will think again about what upsets you? 


What we have gauged is without realising, we are letting our reactions to a lot of meaningless experiences channel to our nerve center (bottom up) rather than letting our nerve center authorise or reject, based on importance (top down). 


..LIVE IN THE MACRO

In keeping with the economic parallel, when analysing the valuation of a company, the greatest importance is based on its Balance sheet (statement of assets & liabilities - the fundamental nerve center). The other available financial statement is the Profit & Loss account (statement of the day to day trading for the year - the heart, blood supply).
The balance sheet is where investors see the true value of a business, as the P&L is merely regarded as a channel by which to fuel the former. 


THINK


As the creators of all of these economic principles, why are we the only one's not living by them? 



Wednesday 4 April 2012

The Power of Integrity

At our core, we must accept that life is like a set of scales. It is therefore the case that if one wishes to maintain a certain level of existence, one must input exactly what he is extracting. 


The same is true in our working and personal lives, one only manages to reap what he has  sown, directly or indirectly. The key realisation stems from the latter half of that statement and is possibly the hardest part to grasp. 


See, nothing in this world is unconnected, disjointed or truly isolated. The particles of this Earth are very much affected by what we emit mentally, this might sound like nonsense but the following example may highlight a horrible year in somebody's life but a beautiful blossoming of the same persons destiny:


Mr Smith dreamt of running his own business, always read about what kind of business he would start and one day hoped to have the courage to make the plunge.


Later on that year, Mr Smith lost his job and was faced with dire financial straits, he saw starting his own business as his only option.


A year later Mr Smith was back on his feet, met a lovely partner through one of his supplier and was living happily with half the earnings but twice the satisfaction.


STOP and PAUSE


Everything we do in life, be it at work or at home, should be well intentioned and exude our integrity.


The world is often referred to as "Small" but few associate this with the spiritual strata which hovers above our head at all times. It is for this very reason our good deeds in London could affect our relationships in Hong Kong and our bad deeds in New York could get us fired in Paris.


Ultimately all we have is our integrity, make sure that the particles surrounding your aura are at peace...'cos they're following you.

Tuesday 3 April 2012

What is your default state?

Almost everybody reading this post will have at some time in their life had their heart beat measured. 


The average adult heart beat in a state of resting is between 60 - 90bpm...this is considered "normal"....but remind me why a state of "resting" considered "normal"? I would argue it is anything but "normal", in fact I can't think of a single time in the day (other than maybe when I am having my heart beat measured) that I am ever in a state of "resting". 


As humans we are thoroughly uneducated about how to control the most powerful machinery  on the planet - our minds. I was recently advised that people tend to consider sleeping as an escape from stress and anxiety. More often than not, they wake feeling groggy and disorientated, the classic "hit by a bus" metaphor. The truth is, unless we train our brain to periodically settle in a state of resting, it is constantly running at a dangerous speed requiring more and more work from the heart...this results in a catastrophic premature deterioration of health.


so in saying that STOP and PAUSE


When was the last time you sat completely still, in complete silence and solitude and observed your heart beat?


The heart is like a car engine...what would happen if you were to never take your foot off the pedal in a stationery position?


Take 5 mins in the morning, afternoon and before bed...to sit, and bring your being to its default position.


You may be surprised by the person you get to meet, you will be surprised at how alien it feels to have personally manufactured a state of calm...


Ultimately, you will question why it is you don't feel like this more often.

Monday 2 April 2012

Patience - worth its wait in Gold

Patience begins by having enough of it to read all of this post, in fact we need patience to learn about patience..is it therefore fundamentally flawed?

What if we are not born with it? I certainly am not, I have had it (in small doses) drummed into me; How? well, if you have to wait for enough things in life you learn to embrace it, a bit like a physical inadequacy you may have...some things are beyond your control. I would go as far as to say that most things are beyond your control. All those that beat the drum of "you make your own destiny", I agree with you whole heartedly, but none of you can ensure the length of time it will take to get there...herein lies the time space where one is required to exercise "patience".

A wise man once said "it will all be alright in the end...and if its not, you know it is not the end yet".  STOP and PAUSE

Sometimes we want things far before their time is right in our lives. There is always a greater plan that man is at the mercy of. This certainly does not mean that we drop all our "weaponry" and free fall into the arms of a virtual destiny, but certainly give fate its due credit when in a state of self pity, self loathing or even self harm. 

Those who are of faith or spirituality will be able to draw upon instances and even scripture where the value of patience has been amplified across the spectrum:

"Good things come to those who wait".

"Patience is a virtue".

It is interesting to note that no other human trait/quality/characteristic has been given quite as much attention through the ages. I have whittled all the superlatives into a simple science behind the art of patience (because it is an art for most of us):

The practice of patience benefits nobody other than the you. Treat it as a form of worship or exercise that will build in your character equity. Truth be told, the poison of anger, frustration and impatience is far more corrosive than the pinch of hard-forced momentary smile.

And so I stand with you in the gap between now and our destiny, let us all smile as; 

When it is all said and done..life is simply, beautifully and unreservedly about patience...nothing else, but wait...

Define Your Happiness

What are your goals in life?


The astute amongst us can reel off an impressive list of very tangible experiences, targets and milestones whilst those less focussed or even well versed will often give a hazier yet equally fulfilling run down. However, the thinker will only ever cite "being happy" as their real life goal.


The great benefit of voicing this option is it has all the qualities of a satisfactory answer yet its inherent vagueness leaves the possibility of all outcomes as well as exempts the protagonist from having to think deeper....the ultimate "get out of jail free card".


Truth be told, nobody really knows what the word happiness means, primarily because it means different things to different people. A lack of definition in life is often a good enough reason for one to switch off, ignore or in some cases freak out.


However, if we accept the above to be true, how can we be sure that we are not "happy" already? Maybe you have reached a point of contentment in your life time that people typically only ever associate with the hereafter or at best in old age. Man ignorantly needs tangible metrics by which to define, it is not his fault..after all he was once an ape, and so he turns to the classics:


- wealth
- health
- integrity


Again in his ignorance, man sleeps easy at night because he has already gone beyond the call of duty and "thought" this much without realising that he really hasn't "thought" at all.


STOP and PAUSE.


What do you define as wealth? Enough to meet your needs, put your kids through school and occasionally satisfy extravagance? - Are you sure you don't already have that? 


What is health? Good enough health for you to not have any life threatening illness so you can fulfil all of your undefined  goals? - How long do you want to live for exactly? Are you being fair to nature here?


Once you have had the opportunity to PAUSE for just a minute you will realise the importance to DEFINE your happiness...give it a figure, give it a time frame. Without these important metrics you are destined to lead a life of unhappiness or worst still depression; but most importantly you are missing out on the opportunity to be thankful.
We discussed earlier that lack of definition in anything often puts us off and more understandably scares us...so why do we fall short on our core aspirations?


Pause, calculate and define....now question; are you sure you're not happy?