Owner: Focus on Life™ URL:http://www.petercajander.com/blog/ Join Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:22:43 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: You will find inspirational, thoughtful, mind-provoking, insightful and sometimes artful writings, ideas, visions, and practical knowledge covering various aspects of life based on freedom and pursuit of happiness. Site statistics:Click here
The Growth Paradigm 2007-06-02 13:55:52 We focus on growth—it’s everything. Our current economy is based on the ever-expanding growth paradigm. It does not work without it. Our monetary base grows every year. Valuations need to grow, as well as profits and revenues. The society is driven by this growth mania.
And how do we do this? By producing and consuming more, or should I say evermore, ever-expanding. And by consuming more we feed more needs to expand the business and acquire new resources to fulfil the needs of the growth. And so the cycle goes on and on—but not forever. Sole expansion is not natural, it pairs with contraction, in nature that is.
Seldom we start to question the basis of the assumptions and thinking underneath. What is the purpose of the growth and why is it needed? Some would say that it is because of money. And in many ways they are right. The fiat money system is built upon a hypothesis of ever-expanding promises of debt that are not paid back but rolled over. It requires more units of money to Read more:Growth
, Paradigm
The Emperor’s New Clothes 2007-05-01 13:53:33 You and me,
are all,
equally born,
purely naked,
without a string,
attached.
Six billion,
all the same,
no one above,
no one below.
That’s all there is.
All the rest,
are simply clothes,
fancy and new,
shiny and bright,
old and weary,
recycled,
worn by us.
But still inside,
we are the same,
purely naked,
without a string,
attached.
No one above,
no one below,
that’s all there is.
We cling,
to the appearance,
experience,
of different looks,
ways of life,
taught by some,
assumed by others,
and the rest,
beyond the surface,
of equal measure,
and value for all,
collecting dust,
ignored by us,
but still,
that’s all there is.
The empire is old,
thousands of times,
tricks have been used,
of different flavour,
with the same,
results.
Each time,
the emperor has,
new clothes,
shiny and bright,
marvellous and light,
latest fashion,
shown by some,
assumed by others,
ignored by very few.
Different looks,
various ways,
to port the same,
recycle the old.
But still inside,
we are the same,
purel Read more:Emperor
, Clothes
Integral Life 2007-06-28 12:48:44 Titles, categories, and labels—that’s how the life is often perceived. There are different functions, tasks, and roles to accomplish and carry out. Often those names deceive us to believe and do things that we do not like. In actuality we even may do exactly the opposites in a hope of brighter days.
Work, holiday, retirement, hobbies, spare time, and weekend are not real. They are labels or symbols. You give them the meaning and special connotation. Those words often embody many expectations, hopes, wishes, and desires. And they are not real either.
Most of the titles have also their opposite counterpart. Work is considered as an opposite of pleasure or holiday. One needs to ‘work’ in order to have fun, later. This labelling is an excuse to delay or deceive oneself from the current moment. Categories are necessary as long as one needs the counterpart as well. This fragmentation is entirely useless in reality—unless you are living under its spell.
Replace the counterparts with Read more:Integral
Decentralised Society 2007-06-27 11:11:45 For a few centuries we have gotten used to a trend of centralisation in almost all aspects of our life. The centralisation of power, money, influence, businesses, professions, education, health-care, defence, and energy are only a few examples of the current way of the world. Fortunately things do not have to be this way in the future.
Clearly there are some advantages in large units and centralisation of functions. Larger production units are more feasible and can gain economies of scale, but there are also areas in which the accumulation is not based on a voluntary cooperation and freedom of expression. Coercion typically prefers to avoid free competition and transparency. It gets its power from the very subjects that are either by ignorance or by force (or a threat of violence) alienated from their powers (i.e. rights). In all the cases the structures are kept in place by the members of the society only as long as they are tolerated or the veil of ignorance has been lifted from the Read more:Society
Democracy is a Tyranny 2007-06-26 05:56:50 Don’t’ get deceived by the looks or even by the words, observe the underlying reality and the deeds. We are not living in freedom—actually we might never have. Only the forms of suppression and abuse have been changing along the centuries, sometimes with a figurehead and more recently only with symbolical representatives.
Oxford American Dictionary defines tyranny as “cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control”. The last definition already includes democracy provided that one is considering the issue from an individual’s perspective. Democracy is a system where a certain selection of the population is giving their power to a few elected representatives that use the power of force to apply their rules to the whole population. It is worthwhile to notice that not everybody in the population is even entitled to vote.
The much-embraced democratic process is only a form of tyranny where majority is entitled to enforce the minority under its regime. And what is the Read more:Tyranny
Responsibility 2007-06-24 07:53:25 We like to have our freedom. It is great and fun to explore and extend our boundaries. We love to take the credit for our actions, but only selectively. Positive consequences are naturally ours to claim but what about the not so desired effects?
Freedom and responsibility go hand-in-hand—the greater the freedom the greater the responsibility as well. Our current society does not encourage for personal freedom. In practice we are sanctioned, monitored, and restrained in almost all aspects of life. We have learned to behave obediently and not to question the behaviour patterns or norms of the society. Like Goethe once said: “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”
We have created an artificial layer that is expected to protect individuals from harms and consequences of their personal actions. This has created a culture where people have accustomed (or learned) to become passive and not to take action themselves. We expect someone else to tel Read more:Responsibility
Money is not the wealth 2007-06-19 16:41:18 Money is only a medium of exchange. It is not the wealth. It only presents the future wealth we believe it can provide us in form of goods and services from other people whom we hope to accept our money in an exchange for our desired goods and services.
Wealth is created by people who produce goods and services. We use money as a middle man to satisfy our current and future needs. What we do not consume immediately we can store for a later day (save (i.e. invest)).
Basically anything can be used as a medium of exchange. History knows many commodities used as money. Currently we have accepted printed-paper notes as money that has no other productive use.
The purchasing power is based on exchange of goods and services between individuals in any society. In another words in order to get something you have to give something. One can do this directly by bartering fish to bread or use a medium of exchange in between. For example buy ‘money’ by selling the fish and then sell the m Read more:Money
Legal Justice 2007-07-16 11:09:50 Equality means that both parties are in the same level, respected and treated according to the same standards. This is the theory, but in practise we seldom face it in reality. Unfortunately we have created this system ourselves and thus are responsible of the results as well. We are living among double standards.
Some rules and principals are necessary to coordinate and enable voluntary cooperation between people. Predefined terms direct what is tolerated and what is not. If everyone is aware of the rules later no one can get excused of ignorance. But this is only half of the issue. The rest is based on the fact that everybody is treated in a similar manner and according to those predetermined terms. Today our societies are not working this way.
We have created an artificial system that is above the level of individuals. In practise we have made people a sub-class to a system that everybody is forced to subdue. Sadly enough this system is run and abused by the very same people. There Read more:Justice
Having vs. Being 2007-07-13 18:34:25 We can do lots of things and also have plenty as well. Still we are often confused with our motives and purposes for the actions we do. Why am I having all these things around me? Are they boosting my ego, reducing insecurity, or even defining in a subtle way how I see and regard myself?
First of all, any action, item, or thing can be necessary or entirely useless. The real purpose and meaning is subjective and cannot be seen from the outset by any third party. Price, quality, or the amount of items is not relevant. The only thing that matters is your own point of view. Are you attached to your surroundings? Do they define who you are?
When you have a need for something you are not free. If you long for more things, shopping experiences, or just for the thrill of having always beautiful and new things to play around with all those are keeping you clung in the loop—you simply need more, and ever more. It might be exciting to travel a lot or switch a job once a year, but have you quest Read more:Having
Happiness 2007-07-10 10:10:57 We are all after happiness but seldom find it but only for a few glances or passing moments. Most of the time we are seeking to gain it via different things, people, or situations. We try to reproduce the moments and experiences we already had or we are just randomly trying to imitate someone else’s life with their choices. And all these methods fail to provide us anything but suffering and continuous seeking of happiness—they all are external to us.
Happiness is a state of mind that is independent of the circumstances or our surroundings. It is our natural state of being that we have learned to ignore while growing up. We have substituted the internal happiness for objects and desires external to us. They are conditional and related to some activities or specific points in time. What is common to all of these is that they are not present right now. They are projected to the future. This type of happiness is something that you’re always waiting for. Your constant mode is to achie
You Have the Power 2007-07-08 16:11:01 Out of six billion one person may not sound like much. Still one person can make a tremendous impact on others and change the way things are perceived in the future. Our history is full of persons that have taken the first step and showed the way for others. Nothing gets done if we all wait someone else to make the first move.
You don’t need to be in the news or have a large sphere of influence to be powerful. We all have power but we decide to use it differently, or even ignore it almost completely. Power is not something external even though it may have different symbols and tangible ways visible to us. Power lies within and it is up to us to decide how we are using it. Environment or any external circumstances cannot change the fact that we are the only one making the decisions how to act and behave in any given situation. Only you can compromise your own integrity. Power is clarity of mind. And it is reflected in your thoughts, talk, and most of all in your actions.
Consistency,
Gratefulness 2007-07-05 15:49:52 Complaining is easy. It’s destructive without giving anything back. There are always so many things that could be better, in our opinion. Focusing on the negative seldom builds any bridges or provides great insights. Still it is as easy to appreciate every moment we have.
We can always choose the way we take any situation we are faced with. We might not be able to change the circumstances but it is certainly in our powers to select our point of view. Resistance and denial are one way to cope with the issues but often we have to give away after a shorter or longer struggle. Observing and seeing the situations as they are is a great gift—and we all have it. Only a few are capable of utilising this gift but they are saved from many worries and troubles later on. If it is raining and you’re soaking wet how much does it help to be angry about it as well? The sooner you accept the reality the earlier you can even try to enjoy the situation since you’re already in the middle of it any
Wealth is Intangible 2007-07-04 16:07:55 You are surrounded by your past. All the tangible items and assets represent the earlier achievements. The same applies to your monetary wealth as well—it is only storage of your previous efforts and endeavours. The past is not the future; you need to create something new in between.
Basically everything goes through a cycle of creation, sustenance, and decay. It does not really matter whether we talk about knowledge, skills, physical goods, or even our thoughts. The only constant is change. It stays and forces everything else into movement. Effort is required to keep up with the changes in the world around us.
Tangible things are relatively easy to produce—if you only know how. And this is exactly the point. We need ideas, innovations, experience, knowledge, and the right skills to get something done. A beautiful house/car or any other physical good or product does not last forever. They need either be replaced or maintained. This information is always within people. Persons make Read more:Wealth
Keep More than You Promise 2007-07-02 18:11:52 Every moment we declare who we are. Our presence, posture, and the way we move, talk, and act expresses the way we think and feel. This can also be heard from our voice—even over the phone. But most of all we are measured by our actions. Are you aware of all of these, every moment?
We consume a lot of our energy in thinking and feeling. The result can be either positive or negative. Worrying, stress, sloppiness, and absentmindedness are just part of the end results. And all of these can be factors embedded in your actions. They are the signals you sent to others—-most likely without realising it yourself.
Talking without meaning is very common nowadays. People just talk without considering what they are saying or promising. This has consequences in your environment as well. Trust can be lost only once. Similarly your credibility is decreased every time there is a discrepancy in your behaviour. We all know persons who are always late. You have learned to know how much the person is
Something for Nothing 2007-07-02 06:51:53 Expecting to gain more than one is willing to put on the table is foolhardy. Forcing others to comply with it is stealing. The motives vary from jealousy, low self-esteem, laziness to greediness and everything between. In any case the idea is to get away with the scheme without being exposed. Current politics is based on this principal.
Voluntary cooperation between people does not need regulations and control. They are required to force something in place and to keep something out. Special privileges are based on structures where the gains are separated from the liabilities and the responsibilities—a free ride. The formula often works so that everybody pays (in form of coerced payments) and some selected few reap the benefits. There are also fancier names for all this: tariffs, tolls, trade restrictions, subsidies, protective laws and directives, sales and energy taxes, and so on. They are all too important to be left for the grown-up adults to decide upon themselves and be responsi Read more:Nothing
How to Live NOW? 2007-06-30 17:18:13 Everything happens in the moment. Still we slip away from the awareness of it—many times a second. The mind wonders to the past or longs for the unhappened future but all these are realised in the moment, now.
Most of us are not awake even while not sleeping. The drowsing happens while living the daily life. We live out of our memory and not out of our creativity (imagination) like Les Brown once phrased. Living in the past means that we are repeating ourselves. We reproduce the thoughts, emotions, and actions from our past moments. All this happens over and over again. We are happy to stick with what we already know. Or as the case most of the time is we are swimming in the negative thoughts of fear extrapolating possible future events based on our past experiences.
Drifting away from the moment is nothing more than dreaming. And sadly this state is so heavy that it seems that nothing can create a state of waking up—even for a few split seconds. Fortunately everyone has those mome
Dynamics 2007-06-30 13:21:24 Constant pace and action are not natural. One needs to relax and wind down as well. You cannot have music without silence. It takes a fine-tuned instrument to recognise when it is the time to blow hard and loud and when it is the time to give away and be quiet.
Peak performance is possible only when one is prepared for it, even unconsciously. Creative ideas and innovations seldom happen in the office environment. It is too predictable and ‘dull’. It is all in the mind but still the man-made landscape is often too ‘square’. Nature does not repeat itself. It creates variance and improvises over the theme.
Dynamics
is possible only when you have enough variation. Mechanical performance will kick back in the long run. Getting used to the pattern and repeating oneself may sound like safe and secure, but they are also the way to become stuck and shut down from the unpredictable.
New is always something unknown. Therefore it is also uncomfortable for many. Even though you may not deci
The Formula of Politics 2007-07-22 07:04:53 Why is politics often associated with corruption, dishonesty, and shallowness? You may be surprised to notice that there is a common nominator underneath that we have often forgotten or just haven’t bothered to think about at all.
Franz Oppenheimer once described that there are only two ways to work in a society. The first is based on voluntary cooperation among people where everyone is dependent on the contribution of others for creating a greater wealth in the society. This is called the economic means. You are cooperating with other people and exchanging the products and goods based on your own free will and judgement. Those concepts (i.e. products and services) will be successful that many people individually have decided to favour by using them. In other words the society is ever changing and finding new ways to satisfy each individual’s needs and wants. People are trusted the responsibility to choose for themselves and to let them to decide and know what works for them in inc Read more:Formula
Credibility 2007-08-01 07:37:05 Credit is something we prefer to get—at least when we want to pursue new projects and need financing. But how do you gain recognition and support for your projects? Are you looking for in other people what in actuality should lie within yourself?
Credit is a recognition of your past achievements and track record. It is your history talking loud and clear by your actions and deeds. You represent the things you have done and let other people to evaluate your performance by your past success. Where you come from is a good indicator to where you are heading as well, but not more—we change all the time. A good track record means nothing if you are not performing any more. Like in the fashion business: you’re only as good as your latest collection.
When you talk with your bank manager she is not giving you credit—you already have it. She just extrapolates your past achievements as a token and promise of a future success. In other words you are trusted because of your history. No wond Read more:Credibility
Time Management 2007-07-25 02:46:15 We all know people who are constantly late. Likewise we can point people who are always too busy or ‘doing it later’, which seldom occurs. Funnily enough we still all have the same 24 hours per day. That’s something we have in common—no exceptions.
Busyness is an excuse. There is always the same amount of time for everyone. It is just a matter how we use the time available to us. When someone tells you that they don’t have the time right now or they are ‘too busy’ what they really are saying is that they have other priorities that are more important at that moment. It is always about priorities and never about the time itself. When you understand this point it can improve your life significantly. Are you appreciating your current moment the best possible way for you and for others? If not then you better consider more carefully your time management.
How much time do you spend talking about doing things—instead of doing them? Explaining and describing your tasks and futu Read more:Management
, Time Management
Change 2007-08-07 06:48:32 We love routines and predictability even if we are not openly admitting it. They give us the feeling of security and being in control of issues. Still, we are only thinking that nothing changes while everything around us is in constant move and a state of flux. We just do not register incremental shifts—and therefore we are often taken by surprise with more or less radical consequences.
Business world is a good case in point about continuous change. Organisations tend to get used to their positions and organisational charts showing how the business is structured and is supposed to be run. But customers do not like to repeat things over and over again without improvements or even trying something entirely different. This creates the urge for adjustments and new ideas. If there is no demand there is no organisation either—in the long run. No matter how nice the current business unit, division, or team you are having but if it does not serve any real need anymore it must go.
Voluntary Read more:Change
Peace 2007-08-16 14:03:13 Everybody talks about it and still we don’t seem to get our house in order. How can we make our planet a better place for all of us? Talk is cheap and so far we have been too ignorant to get rid of the whole issue in large scale enough.
How do you deal with a harassing and aggressive person in your neighbourhood? You let the person know that his or her behaviour is not accepted or supported by others. All of us together define the rules and the accepted behaviour in our societies. By our very actions or non-actions we create our surroundings every day. Our ignorance and tolerance for aggressive and hostile intentions enable them to exist and flourish.
There is a very easy way to stop wars. Just follow the money. Who finance the wars? Who makes the final decisions to declare them? A war does not happen if people are not supporting nor allowing it to happen. Passive and ignorant attitude towards aggressive intentions in massive scale make us sheep that are lead to things that individua Read more:Peace
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