macrocarpa

Shift work has been a thing forever

Not sure why retail is any different.

Guessing bush pilot in Queensland or Northern Territory of Australia based on post history

When you look for things to be angry about, when you look for things to be resentful about, you find them.

When you look for things to be satisfied with, when you look for things to be grateful for, you find them.

I found the opposite. I have achieved far, far more through practising gratitude, knowing my values and moving towards them rather than being pressure and goal oriented.

I went for a walk this morning, in a park near my house. It was cold and grey, so.i was grateful for my gloves and for the solitude. How good is it that I can go for a walk, in a park near my house? Hear birds, breathe air see trees, smell the frost? How good that there are parks, and birds, and it’s safe, and I can walk. I want to keep doing it. I’m grateful for that.

Like I said, gratitude is hard.

It is hard to have gratitude when there is inequality

It is hard to have gratitude when competition is encouraged and enshrined by people who benefit from it

It is hard to have gratitude when the constructs in which we live seem unjust

It is hard to wake up and look around and find something to be grateful for

It is hard to be grateful when all you can see is what you don’t have

Being genuinely appreciative of what you do have leads to a quieter mind and a happier life. We have one life.

It comes across as some stupid bullshit, I know. But the resentment and frustration aren’t useful. Clarity of mind and purpose is, and is more sustainable than passion and anger.

My 2c.

https://www.jamesmollison.com/where-children-sleep

We are privileged. Gratitude is hard.

our parents felt the same thing

Your dad simultaneously saw you as the baby who slept securely in his arms, the child he saw through junior school, the teen who he tried to help steer past his own mistakes and the adult he wistfully spoke of with pride

Imagine how good he must feel to know that you remember him this way.

I think it has to happen in person.

At the heart of this is the unfortunate fact that nuance is lost in online discussion. The reason that the bear scenario is so notable is it is so polarising. “yes! That’s how I feel!” vs “you’re reducing me to a threat”

An honest and direct conversation between two peers is far more likely to have a lasting effect. Hearing what the lived experience is directly from the person who’s experiencing it is far, far more more compelling than the stark bear statement.

I don’t feel unsafe most of the time. But I have felt unsafe and vulnerable before. Thus when a female colleague told me about being followed by a guy in a park while walking her dog, and feeling torn between straight running away and keeping her pet safe, it resonated directly with me. I could see her reliving the experience and see her distress. She shouldn’t have to go through that. It’s not fair.

That conversation resonated far more completely than the bear tweet.

I have a solution for the gun violence problem in schools. Print simple steps on common causes and solutions to the underlying social and mental contributors. Put these up in every door, hallway and classroom in every schools. Then these poor misguided kids would have troubleshooting.