ON THE END

The end is always near for someone. Who, however, we can't always say. But when it hits they will get what has indefinitely plagued. Then fortune will favor and fate will wither, awed by Destiny's power to deliver its promise to those who remain honest with themselves and committed to their dreams.

A VULNERABLE PLACE

Opportunity obliges the soul's request for more.

I'm in a vulnerable place --no job and no immediate plans or ultimate desire to seek one. I'm not lazy or crazy but I am concerned. I know that it takes money to live. But I don't believe that getting a job will solve my problem, though it will ease my anxieties.

But once these settle I'll become as sour as I was before, probably more so. I know too much to retreat, at least I think I do. I know that God has sanctioned this season. I must have time to write. I'm convinced of it though I've tried to deny it, but I can't.

Still, whenever I open the mail I'm reminded of what I "should" be doing. Whenever I open my eyes in the morning and close them at night, I'm keenly conscious of my need for cash. Money, after all, controls. Everything serves its interest. For most of us this means that we only have a moment to prosper by our passion. Otherwise necessity usurps.

Unless we're single or insane we can't indulge our passion indefinitely. It costs too much and returns too little. Combine this with the advice of well-meaning friends and it's impossible for most people to endure such pressure. Ironically, however, this dilemma also contains its own solution.

Unlike the great, most people can't bear the burden of their reality. Thus the pressures that embolden these breaks them. So much, until they forsake their passion and compromise emotionally. Doing so temporarily, however, isn't wrong. It is, in fact, wise. But many, in leaving their passion, get trapped in a profession.

That's the problem. Like a book they buy intending to read, their passion remains on the shelf unopened by them and unread by others. Yet I understand. Pressure is real no matter how impassioned we are. That's why greatness is revered wherever it's revealed. Great pressure can only be subdued by an even greater passion.

SOME PEOPLE

"Apt" laughs at resistance.

Some people deserve success but don't desire it and thus forfeit it, being indifferent to their abilities and opportunities. Maybe not indifferent, but they aren't as intense as we would be if we were endowed. Though allowed, their ought to be a law prohibiting.

Work, Why?

Work if you must, but don't if you can.

I refuse to work overtime. I have now for the last 12 years. In fact I seldom get forty hours. After 35 I don't care. It's not that I can't use the money. I just don't have the time. I'd rather spend my extra hours writing than working. Besides, I seldom receive adequate return. So, I'm content with 35. My boss doesn't like it; but before he finds out I've begun a new week with a new warning, "Get 40 this time." (9/12/00)

FINDING COURAGE

Without courage counsel fails.

Cowards complain about circumstances they tolerate. Favorably placed, however, they believe that they could prosper. No doubt they could. Properly planted, each of us could excel. But what cowards forget is that favorable circumstances stem from courage. It's a matter of making a miracle from a mess. Yet without courage circumstances swallow.

If, however, they actualized even one of their ideas they would create favorable conditions. Eventually, they could transform their greatest tragedy. Of course they believe that courage will help others but not themselves. Deceived by circumstances, they forfeit this grace. Strangers pity their plight and friends frustrate themselves trying to console. They forget, however, that without courage counsel fails. (9/6/00)

DOES IT REALLY MATTER

When at work I'm aware that I'm not doing anything. I mingle with coworkers and carryout management concerns, but still feel that nothing is being accomplished. I cash my check and complete my responsibilities, but still, I'm doing nothing. The people are pleasant, the facilities decent, yet I'm not doing anything. Even the conversations corrupt. Most are so empty that they leave me angry. I watch people work and wonder, "Why are we here?"

I'm grateful for the work but still don't believe that I am doing anything. The moment I exit my car and enter the building I'm immediately reminded of my idleness. By nine o'clock I'm clueless. Then I become distant and dysfunctional, walking in circles and talking out of sequence. My thoughts become antagonistic to the environment. My only remedy for this malady is solitude, without which I would explode. During these times, I go inside myself for sustenance. Afterwards I emerge refreshed, revived and committed to leaving. (9/6/00)

TODAY

Some day never arrives if we fail to use today.

I'm sitting at work watching people doing nothing. What a waste! Some are checking emails and others are being blackmailed. Time is the ransom they pay for neglecting their talent. Instead, they play and complain about their circumstances. Who cares! It's up to the person not the employer to improve himself. Jobs aren't designed to satisfy our quest for growth or yearning for greatness. Most only require a partial commitment. Growth begins, however, when we commit. Until then we play, pretend, and squander our potential in narrow places.

PASSION AND PROTOCOL

Protocol covets what passion uncovers.

Some companies deify decorum though spontaneity might better serve. In doing so, they subject inspiration to order and passion to protocol. What they ignore, however, is the value of both. Embraced, order sustains inspiration and protocol prolongs passion, multiplying its power. Alone, however, order depletes.

Observe, for example, any workplace meeting and watch as participants deny themselves in an effort to appease others. Each says not what she thinks but rather what is expected. In doing so, however, she lets decorum deprive. Until she is willing to be genuine she denies her genius, because genius is always passionate though protocol prohibits.

People, not systems, are insidious.

The division of labor deforms lives. Of course, no rational person will deny the benefits of work apportioned properly. But this segmentation aside, many people under-achieve because of being misplaced. Most in fact fail, slain by potential designed to prosper. Unfortunately most jobs don't employ our excellence. They hire our hands and feet but not our faith. They reject this faculty so much that today's workforce is febrile.

Examine, for example, the average office and you'll find a fragmented worker doing frustrating work. Like a dog or domestic he blindly obeys, seldom transcending his orders. Competence not excellence is his character. To this soul even hobbies profane. Exploited, however, hobbies impart the fulfillment that our jobs don't. Yet drained by work they die of neglect.

Meanwhile others watch us as we grope through the day and mope through life seeking solace. In truth, it isn't even a matter of being all we can, but rather of being who we are. Anything less exhausts. That's why success seduces. Those who achieve it are alive to life. They use their hands and feet but aren't confined to these. They are innovators and executors, resilient and resourceful advocates of excellence. They pursue their dreams, defy their limits, and don't let labor's division deform their lives. (9/5/00)

MISPLACED

Out of our element we decay.

Good people rot in the wrong job. Potential is poisoned and relationships are ruined all because of being misplaced. Much of the discord that destroys workplace harmony occurs because the right person is doing the wrong job. They may have the ability but not the passion, so friction follows. Misplaced, all of us are misfits. Moreover if we aren't careful we'll create a philosophy to justify our passivity. Then we shirk our responsibility and shift it to God. He and our coworkers become the conspirators impeding our progress.

Even so, it's up to us not others to evolve. God of course does contribute, but not as we imagine. His role is that of teacher, revealing to us our assets. He also exposes the folly of following blindly. Then He challenges us to channel our energies accordingly. Unfortunately, however, many people are simply too passive. They compromise and complain, wondering when God will intervene. But they fail to realize that intervention begins when we commit to our dreams. Until then, we will repeat the same lessons and forfeit the marvelous life awaiting us. Sadly, passive people are the worst people in the workplace. (9/5/00)

SMALL TALK

The breeze that blows on others doesn't cool us.

I'm tired of hearing my coworkers rehearse other people's success. It's as if they don't have dreams of their own to accomplish. Why? How does praising Tiger prosper them? It doesn't! But at work that's all people do. They'll waste half a day and most of life lauding others. Doing so is okay occasionally. We all need the diversion that others provide. But after awhile it's abnormal, annoying for me.

I don't care how well others are doing when my own life lags. I can't spend their money or respect. I must earn my own. But if I don't set goals I'll fail. I bet these achievers didn't succeed by surveying other people's lives. Instead they set concrete goals and took deliberate steps toward their dreams. They knew that time was too short and life too uncertain to procrastinate. These are the people I admire --dreamers who do-- not cowards who talk. (9/5/00)

THE CLOCK

Get up, now, and do something!

I'm sitting in a room listening to people talk on the phone. How boring! Most are inadequately trained and the others are professionally unsuitable. But that doesn't matter because they need to work, and the company needs the workers. So, the madness will continue; if not here and now, then elsewhere with others. I guess work is the penalty we pay for ignoring our passion. (9/5/00)

FROM THE AUTHOR

Once I decided to write this book my frustration with work became fertile. Incidents that routinely annoyed suddenly inspired. Heeding the popular proverb, I decided to make lemonade with my lemon, which is what my job represented. So, rather than venting vainly I decided to record my anguish on these pages. Things that I usually said in passing would now be compiled for publication. Doing so made sense but I couldn't see it before. I was complaining anyway, so why not write? Why not compose my complaints and put them into print.

This book blossomed from my efforts. It differs from the philosophical stuff I normally write. At least I sought to make it so. I wanted these words to be a narrative, ranting revelations of insanity. So, I have restricted but not revoked my philosophical license. I have also struggled to be honest. Yet I am not always as disgruntled as I appear. I am by nature intense. I expect greatness of myself and of others.

Moreover, while writing I found myself wanting to be fired. I imagined casually leaving some of the more pungent pieces on my desk in hopes that my boss would see them. He would, inevitably, call me into his office for an explanation. I, of course, would have none, nor would I seek one. Like the kleptomaniac, I too wanted to be caught. But I never got fired because I couldn't convince myself to display these pages prematurely. Discretion discouraged this folly.

So here I stand for all to see (and censure). But that's okay, because I've reconciled the present and now embrace the future. In it, I will be released from work and pulled into my purpose. I will no longer let bills bully my talent. After all, if I don't fulfill my vision I'll spend my life fulfilling someone else's.