The Sunbeams

We’ve come to the end of the first month of the new, if one still considers it new, year. As I’ve stated in a previous post a simple flip of the calendar does not initiate change. No. Change has to come from within conjuring whatever inner motivation that is necessary.

The sun was out today – perhaps for the first time in weeks – and thus that immediately alters one’s perspective. There is definitely a more tangible energetic feeling to everyone’s outlook today – at least in the northeast where January was like so many other Januaries before. That doesn’t mean our problems have gone away, but rather there’s a renewed energy that sunbeams help us combat them. The days are slowly lengthening, but we still have another month before the effect takes hold. In the meantime we are still trapped in the cold and darkest time of the winter. At least there’s a warm spell on the way. We’ll know for sure in a couple more days when everyone pins their hopes on the perceptions of a simple groundhog in Pennsylvania whether the warmth will continue for at least six more weeks. I’m actually fine with the whole silliness of Groundhog Day – winter is sharp enough, and any excuse to throw a party is a good thing. No one likes a downer. Embrace it for what it is, and then continue. Life is too short not to enjoy. Problems will always be with us. Geopolitics. War. Inflation. The economy. Those are the things that we have to be adults about and address during the working hours, but when it’s not the working hours they need to be dismissed quickly. If not the weight can wear down your soul.was

It’s very important to have a perspective in life. I was once ask several years ago if I was concerned about the a specific crisis that had developed. Did I not understand the gravity of it. My response was simple. Yes, of course I’m concerned, but is there anything I can do about it at the moment? The answer was no, I couldn’t. All I could do was prepare myself mentally for the next opportunity to address the situation. I did, I must confess, periodically run through everything in my mind much like a chess game that I had my bases covered, but that’s about as far as I could take it – again at that specific moment. So it was much more beneficial to flush my mind of the ongoing dodge-ball in my head and accept the downtime, the intermission, to refresh myself and, perhaps more significantly, think about something else. If I can’t do anything about the situation, or if the situation has escalated beyond my control, then it is wasted energy to dwell on it. To dwell or obsess serves no purpose but to decay a person’s strength.

I acknowledge there are many individuals who have anxiety issues. It is no trivial matter, and recently I think I’ve been better on identifying friends and colleagues who struggle with it. I have no such struggle. That’s not to say I don’t experience anxiety, of course I do I’m not a robot, but as I got older I like to think I grew out of it. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say I have developed ways of coping when a situation arises. Life is stressful. There is no getting around that. Each day has its own challenges and crisis, but being effectively able to manage is of course key otherwise nothing gets done, and an obsessing inaction can be akin to fiddling while Rome burns. Which is why I compartmentalize each situation. Is there anything I can do about it now? If no then the best that can be expected is to be prepared for the next time you can. Easier said than done in an interconnected electronic world I know, but it’s the premise that is important. I once read of a company that had instituted a policy that employees could not log into their work email after hours. They were given a ninety minute grace period on either side of their assigned shifts to accommodate situations, but after that the company policy, so the article stated, was that a tired employee was an ineffective employee. There’s a lot to that I think. Perhaps it’s something more companies should consider? Another quote I heard once was, “Work to live don’t live to work.”

If anxiety is something we all need to address, me included, boundaries must be set. Of course this company that created this policy is an exception not a norm, it serves as an example that individually we must invoke a self-disciplined policy amongst ourselves. We cannot expect, nor should we expect, anyone to do it for us. People need what they need, and your anxiety is of no concern to them. It’s unfortunate, but true. In the context of all these things the weather helps play a role our outlook, and it doesn’t matter if you live in the tropics with oppressive humidity or in the north with freezing wind chills – everything can drain you. It is therefore necessary to hold the line, to hold the perspective, and keep things siloed from each other. Stresses of work should not effect personal life, and vice versa. It is important to accept the precious moments of stolen time throughout the day. They are not to be squandered, but enjoyed. We get too few of them in life as it is. It is said, “Time is money,” and it is, and my time is too valuable to worry about what I cannot control. That’s my coping mechanism with anxiety; not because I’m some sort of robot. Although I confess it doesn’t hurt to have some sunshine along the way as well, and don’t it feel good?