Being optimistic in today's economy

Today I took Abby for a walk. Not a long walk, nor the short, "fake" walk when I just need to check the mail, but an average walk. I was struck by how happy Abby was, sniffing all the posts, rocks and checking the Pmail. Sometimes, we as individuals need to check our ego at the door, and say, It is enough. It is enough to go for a walk and be happy. It is enough to listen to a piece of music and be moved by it. It is enough to....(fill in the blank) but the key is to be content.

But how to be optimistic in these times? Every time I login to CNN, or CBC News, I read about tragedy, or recession, or falling housing prices. I know that these organizations exist to crow pessimism from the rooftops, but like driving past an accident, I still look. How do I stay optimistic when I am looking for work today? When a part-time secretarial job posting can harvest 90 resumes? Am I deluding myself by trying to be optimistic? Is it as bad as they say? I struggle almost daily with that question, and tonight, Abby showed me.

I try to see the silver lining when I look at something. When I hear that house prices are down, and that it's a buyers market, I try to look further to see the truth. Yes, prices are down, but not across the board. Some neighborhoods are down, but others are up, and those don't get reported. I'm looking for work, in a bad time to be looking for work. All the signs in the Okanagan are pointing to a long drought economically, but is that true? Or is that what I've been seeing because I've focused on that? So much of what we do is based in fear, fear of losing something, fear of something bad happening, it is good to catch ourselves being fearful and to say, "Is that true? Or is that what I've focused on?" If the reality that we live in doesn't suit you, then change it. Change your description of an event, or focus on something else. I admire those that can do that easily; my natural lack of tact usually has me blurting out something that could have been better phrased. But if you practice looking up, you'll see the sun shining sooner than if you're studying your navel.

Abby could have set out on our walk, grumbling because it was too dark to see many things, or too cold to want to go longer, or that she hadn't finished her unauthorized nap on my pillow. But in a dog's world, a walk is something to be enjoyed, and so she left the grumbling at home when we left.

And so, I've decided to be optimistic for just a little bit longer. I choose to look for the sunshine, rather than the clouds. I choose to believe there is work out there, and that "My business will assume VAST proportions". That was an actual fortune cookie I got last week, and I saved it. And at the end of the day, if I was wrong, I haven't lost anything by being positive.

Inspiration

Patanjali was an Indian mystic who wrote the Yoga Sutras over 2,000 years ago. Over the eons, many have believed this man to be a saint, and he is considered as important in Eastern tradition as Aristotle would be in the West. I recently read a passage that he wrote, regarding Inspiration:

"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds, your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties, and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be."*

Wow.

That is easily one of the most profound statements I have read in my life, and I would suggest that it is even more applicable today, than it was 2,300 years ago when he conceived it.

When I consider this in terms of my own small existence, I can reverse a bad mood or turn a good day great by the simple act of creation. Whether it be going for a coffee and sketching ideas on a napkin, discussing a killer idea for a series of portraits, imagining a home built from shipping containers, or developing a black and white print in a darkroom, that act of creation makes my heart sing. I feel powerful, imaginative, and I feel the self imposed limits that my ego has shackled me with slipping away. I feel connected to my destiny, and certain that I am on the right track. I feel determined, and absolutely sure footed.

I believe that to be inspired is to become closer to God. Our goal in this life should be to delve deep and to discover what it is that inspires us to create, and to pursue that. To find what it is that keeps you going long after the other employees have left for the day, or what it is that wakes you up at 4 am to start working on. This is different than motivation; I can be motivated to go to work at 4am because I'm in debt, but I may or may not be inspired!

I have become inspired recently to create a series of portraits. I am beginning a series of images of people who have walked away from a job, and become successful at what they love to do. I'm in the conceptual stage of this series, and I hope to begin it soon. I've had this in my mind for years; the first time I began, I realized to my dismay that at that time, I didn't have the skills to do it justice, and I shelved the project. In hindsight, a better alternative would have been to attack the project and learn on the fly, but everything happens in this world for a reason, and now is the time to begin.

What inspires you? How do you know when you are on the right path? What does it feel like to you? What do you create, and how do you feel when you have created? I've corrected the comments section to make it easier to post; feel free to drop me a comment if what I've written inspires you....

The images above are of Abby, just being inspired to be Abby.
- Kees

* From the book "Inspiration: Your ultimate Calling" by Dr. Wayne Dyer