2012 Consult - Knowing what lies ahead... could change your life!

Musings from across the Big Pond in Scotland

By: Davy Jones

Davy Jones From where I'm sitting the voices are becoming louder, ramping up, shrill. Tucked up in the highlands of rural Scotland two miles from a paved road, an ever-increasing clatter is rolling across the waters from the west. Could it be the clatter of Blame, and his sidekick, Victim? They hunt in pairs. Are these rumblings saying we've come to a tipping point? Is the need now stronger to apportion blame than the need to actually fix the problem? The situation whatever it may be, health, wealth, weather exudes a loud noise at first, then soon spins away and the need for someone/something to blame seems to become the one overriding emotion. It feels good to get angry and it's so easy. Quite seductive.

When we are young the world comes at us in complicated, urgent waves of feelings. We inhale them deeply and if life is too comfortable how do we learn to feel these emotions and garner the lessons they offer? Sure we went to school, and ... and ... what did we really learn? Don't we all at some time in our lives do a bit of hard time? Maybe not these days. We so love the phrase, "It's all good". But what happens when we have lived on easy street for a very long time? We get used to it. Then we grow to EXPECT it and this is when we can become inflexible. Rigidity sets in which leads to weeping, whaling and gnashing if the rug is pulled. How on earth do we come to our senses when this happens? One choice that's quite popular is the path of Waaa Waaaa, I don't wanna, it's not fair. As Bruce Willis said, "Call the waaambulance". Seriously how do we get through it and how does a country get through it? Any history buffs out there? If so, you may get my point.

Can a country become spoiled? Maybe it was just too easy after the war. I should specify WW2, considering we've been at war ever since. I don't know, I'm supposing, but maybe we got too comfortable - we were lulled into a hypnosis of fully stocked shelves and home entertainment. Schools became more about passing tests than thinking and food came at us in huge portions - all you can eat. And then, Reganomics. The Regan trickle down went gravity free and the 80's arrived, black high heeled boots, hell bent for leather. The race to 'get' was on, and America's second Gold Rush began. To own a Porsche with license plates *I GT MINE*. Yes, I actually saw this car and wondered about the common sense. It might be inviting a wee bit of trouble, like, don't leave it anywhere but your secure garage. Oh well, each to their own. A perfect metaphor for the 80's though. The rest watched while the few gorged and if this wasn't hard enough they rubbed it in our faces, like the plates on the Ferrari I saw P H Q (a riddle, a phonetic ****you) Now . . . crash, kaboom, bam, zip, wallop, the shit has hit the fan. Whaaat do we doooo?

First we get angry, Mad As Hell sang the Dixie Chicks. This is the battle cry, we ain't gonna take it anymore. Anger is useful for a while, like an alarm clock, it wakes you up but you wouldn't want it clanging all day. Anger is such good adrenalin rush but it's habit forming, addictive. It's like the vuvuzelas at the World Cup Soccer, a buzzing in the brain. If we're lucky enough to come to our senses, we realize anger is a never-ending treadmill. How/why do we take the next step? Only one reason. For our health, wealth and sanity, that's why.

Anger is a killer, if left too long it festers inside, destructive not only for our health but it soon pushes pals away, except the other angry ones. But when someone changes it makes the rest even angrier because they no longer collude. Misery does love company. Have to ask yourself what is it that makes you happy, but only if you really want to BE happy. So easy to fall into the victim role.

"A thousand monks a thousand religions", as the wise guy said. Those that have ears. The fearlessness *to think*, to come to realize that there is only one thing that can come out of anger - and that's more anger. Same for hate and the same for kindness and love. It's the grateful folks that realize this and instead of whining and complaining about life they make the choice to focus on what's good and to be grateful for it. Nobody said it would be easy. It's about breaking a habit and we know how hard that can be. But it can be done and is being done by many - those that realize that in order to be loved you have to love and few things say love like being grateful.

Denial is powerful choice - one many make - but does it lead to happiness? No. Life's about choice and only I can muster the courage to change the direction I'm going. When you come to the realization, that "Ah ha" moment, you understand that whatever you think long and hard about, you get more of.

Focus on hate ... focus on gratitude. The choice is yours.