How Are You Navigating the Trials of Life?
The heat of August usually influences the pace of business and life in general. As you may have noticed I’ve taken to a more relaxed schedule of frequency with my blogs. Everyone tends to slow down, those who can take vacations and many embrace much needed rest and relaxation. Not so August 2011.
This is perhaps the most turbulent August I can remember in a long time. For the first time in out history we are experiencing the results of the downgrade of the US credit rating. We have witnessed a debacle as we watched our Congress’ dysfunctional process. Thousands if not millions of Americans have learned to discuss and compromise on critical issues confronting them. For three years we’ve had to tighten our belts. The American people, having spoken through polls, wanted a compromise solution comprised of reduced spending and increased revenue. Instead we were held hostage, forced to witness intractable position-taking that both in the long and short term is self-serving and supports the political ideology of a few, not the American people.
As I write this blog dramatic swings on Wall Street capture the airwaves. Economies around the world are in trouble. We are awaiting news from the Feds, which hopefully will create some sense of order and security. In England, riots have broken out around London and have spread to three other cities. Are they economically or racially motivated? In the horn of Africa millions are suffering from famine and drought. Children the most vulnerable, are demonstrating resiliency when given nourishment. Basic necessities are in short supply at the world’s largest refugee camp. Sanjay Gupta’s report of a family of five, who walked for 30 days at night to get to the refugee camp only to be robbed of their meager possessions after crossing the border, is heartbreaking.
I went to Mass Sunday and the homily addressed “The Crisis Of Trust”. The Monsignor referenced an article in The London Tablet which was reprinted from Enlightenment Magazine (http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j9/andrew_crisis.asp) It is worth a read and I’d welcome your reactions. The chasm between word and deed is widening. We are suffering the effects of a global loss of trust in our personal relationships, business relationships and with our governing, financial, religious and other global institutions. Some of my previous blogs have addressed the diminishing lack of trust workers have for their employers.
The issues confronting the world are monumental. I’m thinking the answer has to lie within each of us. We need to spend time getting to know who we are and taking the time to reflect on our own behavior. We need to account for our own actions and begin to develop a trusting outlook for ourselves. We need to then bring this attitude and associated behaviors into our relationships and our workplace. Individually we need to do our part in addressing the issues. When I studied at the Gestalt Institute we learned we could intervene in an organizational problem at the individual, group or organizational level. It seems to me now that our best hope lies in us working at the individual level. In this way we can once again trust in ourselves and ignite the spirit of the American Dream.