Risk

"A lot of people approach risk as if it were the enemy, when it's really fortune's accomplice."
- Sting


Fear is an odd emotion. Handy, certainly, at times, and a horrible hinderance at others - really an enemy at its worst. Fear keeps us alive when confronted by an aggravated grizzly bear (assuming we're quick enough on our feet). On the other hand, fear destroys relationships when it morphs into destructive emotions such as jealousy and anger.

Fear paralyzes us when we should be taking positive action. Fear sees the cup as half empty. Fear grabs hold of our imagination and we create the worst thoughts - ever hear of the saying "I feared the worst." Usually we do. But as Mark Twain said "I am an old man with a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."


Fear governs our ability to risk. "No risk no reward." another overused saying. But certainly we MUST risk in life, right? Of course we do risk... every day, when we venture out of our homes.... we could be run over by a truck, or catch a deadly disease, or stalked by assassins... it's certainly all possible... but we don't fret when we leave our home... we don't consider it a risk. Why is that? And if that's not a risk that we recognize, then why should changing jobs, or getting out of a bad relationship, or moving to a new place, or starting a business, or investing money provoke such anxiety and fear in most of us?

One thing I've kinda learned in my 37 short years on earth.... no matter what kinds of unlucky, or unfortunate, or difficult, or awful things that happen to us during our time here..... usually - as in 99% of the time - we all seem to land back on our feet. Every one of us. And we find new hills to climb and new things to worry about. lol Anyway, what's the worst that can happen? We die right? And we're all gonna do that anyway. Well... I take that back.... there are MANY worse things than dying... but that's my own personal opinion as I am not at all fearful of death... curious would be a more apt description.

So don't be afraid to risk.

I'm Still Alive

Well, back to the blog after a respite. The Philippines were great as usual. Of course, I have my gripes from time to time... most of my "gripes" are simply comparisons. Still, as a notoriously picky eater I was thrilled to get back to New Mexico and my normal food. LOL Beef enchiladas with red chile sauce were first on the menu, followed the next day by a vienna beef HOT DOG ... oh baby!
I just don't like a lot of Filipino food, mainly cuz I'm not big on seafood. I love the pork bbq there... most excellent! And of course chicken is always on the menu....and I'm fine with that. An occasional milkfish okee dokee... but squid and crabs and other strange creatures from the depths of the ocean? They make horror films about these critters... and I'm supposed to eat them? Anyway, I became a favorite customer of KFC's, McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Pizza Huts all over the PI. Tried some carabao meat too.... I think I'm still digesting it.

Driving in Manila

Driving in Manila is not a science, it's an artform. And the taxi cab drivers here are zen masters. It's amazing what they can do, constantly weaving and dodging in and around other vehicles. there are no rules of the road... oh sure you do see an occasional stoplight that (for the most part) drivers heed.... but mainly Manila's automobile transportation system is just a mad dash to see who can get to the open lane first. It's really just a giant game of "chicken" with two, three, or sometimes four vehicles each trying to nose simultaneously into the same open lane.... and eventually all but one will chicken out.
I've seen surprisingly few wrecks here... though I've been in about 1000 near fender benders. lol It's pretty amazing how vehicles will get within inches of one another before someone slams on the brakes. The good news for those with weak hearts is the speeds are usually between 15 and 30 mph.... so you're not really risking life and limb here.... 40 mph is really flying in Manila and there are not many areas where you can get up to those kind of speeds simply because the traffic is so thick.
So basically, in comparison to the States, traffic is much crazier, rules are few and far between, but I would imagine that actual traffic fatalities (not including pedestrian fatalities which I wager happy regularly here) are much less than in the U.S.. Better to have a fender bender at 15 mph in Manila than get T-Boned by some joker running a red light doing 50 mph in the States.
I recommend a trip to Manila for anyone and everyone simply to experience a 45 minute cab ride. It's one of those life experiences that should be mandatory.

Vacation and Adventure

Getting ready for a six week vacation to The Philippines. We leave in the morning. I expect to post from their quite regularly, as internet cafes there are as prevalent as Starbucks and Seven Elevens are here in the States. I'll be beaching it and swigging Coronas for a good part of the time, while visiting my wife's family (she's Filipina) for another good part of the time. Woot!

Thoughts on Katrina

Just watched a political discussion about Katrina. A couple of things that strike me about that entire situation.

1) From a strategic/economic standpoint, New Orleans is vitally crucial to this country as the port at the mouth of the Mississippi River. A lot of commerce from up and down the Mississippi river (not to mention oil from the Gulf) depend on the port system around New Orleans.
So, now I ask, why did such a strategically important city have such a SHITTY levee system. EVERYONE knew that the levee system was designed for nothing worse than a Level 3 hurricane. Probably would have been a smart thing to pork that puppy on up to a Level 4... or better yet, level 5 hardiness. Why didn't the Federal government step up to the plate and make sure that was done? I tend to be somewhat of a Libertarian and don't like the Federal Government getting involved with everything, but I think this was an exception - simply because of the economic importance of this area to the entire U.S....and the whole thing could have probably been built for about the same amount of money that we spend in a week on the Iraq war.

2) What is it with many of the people there who, granted, were knocked on their asses by this catastrophe, BUT who then proceeded to spend the next many weeks and months sitting on their asses whining about not enough help coming from the Federal Government. Some of them are STILL sitting on their asses in hotel rooms wondering when they're gonna get more help. I've got news... there ain't no more help. I suggest you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start over. Quit laying blame, and quit asking for a handout. Life is tough.. all of us have obstacles to overcome, some bigger than others. Move somewhere else. Find a job. Rent an apartment. Save some money. Buy some furniture, etc etc etc. It's just life. I can feel sorry that you've had your life turned upside down. But when I don't see you helping yourself, how can you expect me or anyone else to help you?

Had to get that off my chest. hehe

Dharma and Karma

Some schools of spiritual thought tout the idea of Dharma, which basically means your "purpose in life." We've all been sent here to pursue something, to accomplish some thing. Seems it's a Hindu and Buddhist thing primarily. I found this explanation from a Hindu point of view:
"Dharma is the path of righteousness and living one's life according to the codes of conduct as described by the Vedas and Upanishads."


"Dharma therefore implies duty - a course of conduct. For example, Hinduism endorses the idea that it is one's Dharma to marry, raise a family and provide for that family in whatever way is necessary."


Webster's Dictionary lists Dharma as a Hindu/Buddhist concept: "conformity to one's duty and nature." Interesting.

Karma on the other hand is something most of us are familiar with. From a Hindu point of view, bad karma is something that is accrued when one goes against his Dharma, and good karma is accrued when you follow your Dharma. I'm not a Hindu, nor am I a member of any other religious club. However I do believe in the concept of karma, if only from the old saying "what goes around comes around." It's true. If you spread good energy, good energy tends to come back to you. When you emit negative energy, expect the same in return. Even from a simple micro level... notice when you're nice and polite to the store clerk, they're more likely to be nice and polite back to you. All of us can relate to that. I like the idea of karma, and I'm comfortable with it. It makes sense from a feeling/knowing as well as a logical point of view.

Dharma on the other hand I have problems with. I like the idea that I have a "reason and purpose" for being here. And my Dharma is there, is must simply follow it and I'll be rewarded... but is it true? Do we all as individuals have a "Purpose" that we must find? Or is life really just an experience of infinite possibilities that we have complete freedom to pick and choose from? Is there something I'm supposed to be doing right now? Or is life just an all you can eat buffet and I'm free to pick and choose whatever I want.


I'll write more on this later.

More on Passion

Passion is a great thing, unless it is used to cause suffering. Fanatic militants have great passion, misguided as it is. Violence leads to violence which leads to suffering... and those who suffer usually aren't the ones engaged in violence. You'd think that we'd learn as a species that violence as a tool of change RARELY works and tends to just make things worse. But we don't learn. If we don't like our environment, we'll simply grab a few weapons find some like-minded friends, whip each other up in a frenzy and decide to "change things for the better", which may entail overthrowing a government, taking some people hostage, or maybe destroying an entire race of people. Of course these things almost invariably end in disaster for everyone involved.

Passion

I think it could be argued that the greatest gift a human being can have is the gift of passion. A passion for something in life. Anything. At least one thing. People who have a passion have a purpose. People who have a passion have a direction. People who have a passion have a reason to get up in the morning - a reason that is exciting. A passion creates its own energy. All human beings experience passion at some point, but most passions are fleeting.... once satiated they disappear. I envy those who have lifelong passions, whether it be a career or a hobby or some other love in life that makes all the crap we deal with on a day to day basis easily bearable. Nietsche said "He who has a why to live, can bear with almost any how." True statement methinks.

But how to find passion? THAT is the question.

Just a few thoughts to get my brain working...

* Peace and tranquility are boring. I think that is part of our problem on this planet. Strife and conflict on a micro and macro level add excitement and challenge, two things that humans seem to need in order to be happy. Otherwise we would all choose to live like simply like Buddhist monks. Truth is 99.99 percent of us would be bored to tears with the life of a Buddhist monk. How do they do it?


* The concept of relativity in the human psyche is interesting to me. I was watching something on TV about billionaires not necessarily being happier than the rest of us, since once we achieve a basic standard of living that feeds us, clothes us, and puts a roof over our heads, money does very little to increase personal happiness. I have read other studies that confirm this. And we compare ourselves to others in our peer group to decide how "rich" we really are. In other words...these billionaires are comparing themselves to each other... so the 10th richest guy in the world isn't any more satisfied than the 10th richest guy on your block... they both may feel inadequate compared to those "above them" in their peer group.

* Money to me equates to freedom.. and to me this is valuable. I'm not very materialistic - I don't work to generate money in order to buy stuff or to increase my "social status", but I really do enjoy the freedom aspect of money. If I have ten million in the bank I can pretty much do what I want when I want, work when I want where I want, vacation on a whim, surround myself with people whose company I enjoy, etc etc etc. People who are indignant or even hostile about those who try to accumulate wealth point out that materialism and the pursuit of social status are silly illusions, and therefore people who pursue riches are idiots. But I would argue that the pursuit of wealth to increase personal freedom is not an idiotic pursuit. (however I would agree that most people - certainly most of the people I know- who pursue more and more money do it to buy more and more stuff, bigger and better houses and cars, and tend to view keeping up with the Joneses and wallowing in a hot spring of ever increasing social status as the end all be all of human existence. lol sigh) BUT there are a few out there who understand the true value of cash is freedom. To those I give respect.

* Has anyone read any really good studies about the power of groups? Groupthink, to me, is one of the basic engines that powers human behavior on our planet. I mean, to me a religious zealots and a rabid football fan are pretty similar in their behaviors. It's all about "US" meaning our group, whether it's Oakland Raider fans, or students from a particular school, or a racial group, or a neighborhood, or the muslim "nation", or just about anything you can think of. Funny thing is we all belong to a HUGE number of groups. How do we each decide as individuals which group is most important if they come into conflict. Iraq is a great example. A typical Iraqi is a member of the "Religious Sect Group" and also a member of their particular "city group" their "clan group" their "mosque group" their "Iraqi group", and incidentally they are also members of a very large group that we like to call the "human race group". Right now it's obvious that for many Iraqis the religious sect group is FAR more important than any other group. If they considered themselves part of the human race group then they certainly wouldn't consider hating or killing or discriminating against someone else within their group, right? Generally members within the same group don't act against each other... after all if some guy is in my group he's my BRO right? And I'm gonna cut him some slack cuz he's one of US. I doubt most Sunnis would hate or kill or discriminate against other Sunnis, but they'd do it against a kurd or shiite in a heartbeat, right? And vice versa I'm sure. So really a lot of human problems are created with this group mentality that we have "our group is right yours is not". It seems to me that if we could get everyone to join the "human race group" and make it their MOST important group, above all other "subgroups" they belong to, then maybe we'd start working together on this planet rather than working against each other. What do you think? I'd love to know if anyone out there has read a well written in depth discussion of group mentalities and their affect on human behavior.