By Jim Selman | Bio
Here we are at the beginning of another
new year. All the “Happy New Year” greetings are fading and we all seem
to be digging in for the coming months. We seem to ebb and flow with a
kind of seasonal ‘mood swing’ and now, in the middle of winter, are
beginning to get down to business. In general, most of us start a new
year being optimistic—filled with resolution(s), ready to put the
mistakes from 2009 behind us and eager to take on the world or
ourselves or whatever it is we think needs to happen for 2010 to be the
‘best year ever’. The fact is the world is in pretty much the same
place it was before the holidays: we just took a break from all of our
‘earnestness’, planning and efforts to survive for a few weeks. Being pessimistic or optimistic is an attitude
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Wisdom in Action
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 By Jim Selman | Bio
I was reading an interesting article by a
prestigious think tank this morning that was saying perhaps the
‘recession’ isn’t as black or white as most of us make it out to be and
that it most certainly isn’t as bad as conventional wisdom and media
hype would have us believe. I noticed I felt a little better after
reading it, but then I wondered why my mood shifted so easily based on
only one article. Tomorrow I could read a darker scenario by another
equally reputable authority and feel depressed. Some days I am
optimistic and some days I am pessimistic. This came as a bit of a
surprise, since one of the tenets of my work and what I teach is that
‘pessimism’ and ‘optimism’ are counter-productive concepts—assessments
based on attempting to predict an unpredictable future.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
Tagged with:
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One of the nice things about traveling about as I have been for the
past couple of years is that you get an opportunity to listen to people
in other countries speak about the state of the world. As a fair
generalization, I would suggest that we in the USA and Canada are among
the most vocal ‘worriers’ I encounter. I would say that a high
percentage of North American conversations—at least among those I
converse with and based on my take on ‘the news’ on TV—are worried
about something. From head-shaking expletives about George W to the
justice system, the environment and the state of the world to, of
course, terrorism, it is just one thing after another. Even in Canada
(which has institutionalized optimism), the “Yes, but” appeal to a
balanced account is wearing thin.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at The Great Turning
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