There is a natural pace in nature that we cannot alter. The turnings of the seasons, the ebb and flow of the moon, day and night, birth and death. None of this can be altered. However, we can make artificial changes. Electric light extends the day into night. Green houses make things grow well into winter. Compost makes thing grow faster. By introducing these enhancers, we can increase our productivity and comfort level. We can make life better through technology. But all too often, we go too far, and instead of gains we lose.
This is why we should pay attention to our stress and anxiety levels. If we do things at a healthy pace, we become comfortable and confident. But if we do things too quickly we become stressed, and if we do them too slowly, we become anxious. Doing things in fits and starts make us both anxious and stressed at the same time. This extends to spending habits and life style. Living beyond our means will only serve to stress us, no matter how relaxing the service or good may seem in the advertisement.
The idea that stress and anxiety is a natural and healthy part of modern life is popular, but wrong. Nothing is gained by putting ourselves in uncomfortable positions. However, it's a convenient place to keep one's subjects if political control is the goal. That's why politicians and their minions insist on heated debates and as much controversy as possible. By constantly spooking their subjects, and stressing them in all ways imaginable, no-one retains the wherewithal to oppose the system in an effective manner. No-one can withdraw from the system when neck deep in debt and constantly chasing salaries to pay for consumption of dubious value.
It's important to realize that our pace must necessarily parallel nature itself. We are limited by what nature can provide, and it follows that any activity that goes beyond this limit is wasteful and bound to fail just as much as inactivity. Furthermore, everyone is equipped with a natural sense of this pace. Our chances of success in society are therefore related to the pace at which we present ourselves to our peers.
My stepdaughter suggested the other day that she should send out resumes to employers, even those who had no use for her. What could she possible loose by doing this? Then I pointed out that she would in doing this present herself as the one with no sense of timing or intuition. She would become the clumsy one that shoots in all direction on the random hope of hitting a bird. Employers are people too. They too want to do things at a natural pace. Wading through heaps of unsolicited mail is not top of their list of favourite activities.
On the other hand, if my stepdaughter sends out targeted and well-crafted letters to people who are looking for her specific profile, she'll nail it. That would make her the patient hunter who sits quietly until the right kill comes along. It makes her the pleasant one that always knows what everyone wants and provides exactly that.
This is why I, in my ambition to have my thoughts heard, make sure I promote myself at a leisurely pace. I also make sure I have more than one thing to talk about. That way, I present my audience with an entertaining mix of ideas that sparks the imagination. I become the one with a range of ideas and thoughts, open for discussion and fun to be around.
But all of this is only possible for those with sufficient real savings to do things at the right pace. I could never do what I have done the last several years if it wasn't for a drastic reduction in consumption, and an awareness of how the financial markets lure us into loss making positions. It's only by following my own advice related to finance and investments that I'm able to live life as comfortably as I do.
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| Fresh shoots on a rose bush |
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