Pressing on with 2009. This too shall pass

I have been pressing on with the new year. The first full work week of 2009 has come and gone.

Frankly, it is not much different for me. The same cast of characters I have had to deal with have been their dysfunctional selves.

I think that the unemployment rate of 7.2 percent and the announcement from Obama on Thursday that things are going to be bad for sometime has made some people just want to pull the covers over their heads. But Obama's announcement was smart--it is a subtle form of CYA as many expect him to be the savior--which he is not.

However, the media-magnification informational intensification effect truly is strong right now. There is an atmosphere of doom and gloom right now. For people who are looking at the big picture of the future, the future may look like one big black wall that everyone is going to run into and splatter and die.

In trying to think critically for myself right now, I find myself asking several questions. What really matters right now? What is the reality? What is the best thing to be doing right now? How much should I really be worrying?

What really matters right now?

I have decided that what really matters right now is that I take care of life on a daily basis. Life has its requirements from day to day. You can look too much at the overall and screw up the easy, little, but necessary things that require your attention.

I also think that in the times of recession, the intangibles of life come to the forefront. Character is what is there when the money is not. Character is more than integrity . . . it is the fortitude to do what needs to be done. Many ordinary, shy and timid people show character--it is just plain boring and will never make for a good movie or TV show.

What is the reality?

What the reality is . . . is what your eyes and ears tell you. You have a brain to sift it for you. My reality is that I and my family have what we need. Yes, life is not perfect, and there are some chinks in the armor, but the good news is that we are not in a hot, all out war.

What is the best thing to be doing right now?

I think that the best thing to be doing now is living your life. Make your list of priorities. Work on what you can work on. If you are out of work, look for a job. If you are feeling down about yourself, do something to improve your mind, body and spirit by getting an educational book for video at the library and turn off the TV news after 30 minutes. (I suggest learning statistics or something like accounting or the Linux system.)

I also think that it is important to sift your social circle. People who want to talk about the economy all the time are people who are obsessing. They are stuck in their fears. I have a few of them and I cannot change them--I can only walk away or put in my ear plugs.

How much should I be worrying?

I do believe that worry is a surprisingly normal human habit. So many thought patterns become worry. We truly feel vulnerable in so many ways. When we start to think about our vulnerabilities, we then go to those events or situations where our vulnerabilities will get us hurt. We realize our insecurities and then we start to worry.

We need to worry as little as possible. I know that doesn't do much for you, but I have yet to meet someone who got rich from worrying. I have yet to meet anyone who really benefitted from worrying.

This too shall pass!

Life is very much not what we as a nation want right now. We want an economy that is kicking butt and where people are spending away and are happy. (I sadly believe that we as a nation will never be happy--it is our right to be unhappy and we seem to take full advantage of it. It is what we do instead of pursuing happiness.) However, I offer the message of hope that this too shall pass.

As I have said in this blog before, the recession of 1991-1992 passed. I felt like I was in a desert. I made it through one day at a time and it ended.

There are 355 days of them left in 2009 and we will not live all of them at one time. We will live each of them one day at a time. January 1, 2010 will come.

Until then, there will be some difficult days and there will be some good days. Life is not that hard one day at a time. Each one shall pass.