Opinion/Editorial
Pull Cord To Inflate
To be on planet earth at this point in mankind’s development and to be a participant in the grand global adventure is something most human beings, especially those with the economic ability and communications tools to be fully involved, is to be in a state of marvelous wonder. To be able to wear clothing that really works with every environmental and weather condition, to have efficient heating, cooling, ready and fresh food, effective medical/dental services, affordable electricity, gas and wildly available low cost transportation is to have arrived in a place that would have been defined as heaven only a few hundred years ago. And then there are the technological gifts of radio, television and communication technology that allow everyone to know that this sort of ‘heaven’ is fast becoming the norm for every member of the human species is so incredible, that most people never take it in. Once, back in the ‘olden times’ of business planning, there was a form of business management called management by exception. The “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” kind of thinking with the additional caveat of only working on those things that needed fixing. Exceptions were to be noted, and then brought back into order or operating condition, up to some pre-established level. Management by exception is also part of the scientific method, wherein experiments are repeated over and over again, with exceptions being constantly sought after in order to change the rule.
This old form of business management was succeeded by management by deliberation, then management by mission orientation, and so on. In truth, management by exception never went away, except as a phrase used to discuss business operations. Human beings, coming down from the trees, and then out of the mud and the savannahs, kept the philosophy “management by exception” front and center at all times. This active application of belief works as it is fueled by fear, the greatest of all known human motivators. Fear, and the worry that things will break and the attention to things broken, have created the one percent so derided by almost all the rest of humanity. The people who’ve accumulated billions upon billions of dollars (think Jeff Bezos of Amazon who made eight billion dollars in one day, or Zuckerberg of Facebook, who made six billion). These men and others of their ilk are not driven by strong business acumen or principals. They are driven by fear. Fear that the whole thing they are participating in will break, so they throw their whole lives into concentrating on keeping these things from breaking.
Where is the pathos in mankind?
Where is the consideration?
Where is the bliss?
These things can only be found in time. There is always time. But time to do what? If all the time available, day and night, is taken up by worrying and fixing stuff, then there is no time for those other things. And that translates into there being no time for living life. Time must be taken. The only business, or personal management system, that makes any sense at all should be called management by time. How we want to spend our lives must always be spliced into how we must spend our time. We are not here alone. We do not survive alone. We cannot survive alone, except for short periods of time, and we don’t really want to be alone, although some will preach to anyone who will listen that they do.
We all live in a time of grand accomplishment, as discussed earlier, but we’ve come to a time where we’ve stuttered to a halt when it comes to reflection, recognition and consideration. We’ve reached a point in human development where taking time, and managing it for progress, is as vital as figuring out what “progress” means today. What is seen as progress for some is defined as failure by others. It becomes important for the group effort to overcome individual definitions of this important word and concept. Trillions of dollars are being taken from everyone by people dedicated to the general failure of mankind, as long as it means the success of themselves and their spawn. Energy companies, airlines, cell phone companies, cable companies, utility operations and even the mass media have come under the control of such individuals or small groups of them. Control of these things must be wrested back, or at some point, not far in the distance, general failure of the human system will occur. It has occurred in the past many times, with catastrophic effect on mankind. The Dark Ages were not called the Dark Ages for nothing.
Management of time. Taking the time to think. Wresting this time from those around you that want that time badly, and they want it for as little as possible. Think of a mind experiment. Think of floating next to a sinking airliner that crashed into the ocean. Think about how that hulk of an aircraft may keep you afloat if you keep swimming alongside of it, occasionally grabbing hold of some outcrop for support. There is an alternative. You are wearing an inflatable rubber life jacket. Think of pulling the red cord to inflate it, and then floating, and then swimming, on your own. Think of others in that rough water seeing you and then pulling their own cords.
The powers allied against change are very strong. Within most protest groups, nearly forty percent of the protestors are undercover agents of the existing power structure. You can manage your time with your mind, however, and you can manage it with others using the Internet. Bernie Sanders may be a pie-in-the-sky candidate with respect to many issues but he is once again proving that huge numbers of human beings can come together with their minds, their money and their intent to progress on into greater civilization using the Internet as a gathering tool. However, before that ‘gathering’ of humanity can occur for the purposes of the betterment for all of mankind, individuals must first pull the rip cords of their minds. They must disengage to re-engage. It’s a Wonderful Life. Frank Capra and those screenwriters who made that Christmas movie so long ago were reflecting, considering, and then advising everyone who saw their work to manage their time. To manage it so as to live in bliss, instead of a form of slavery with or without physical yokes and chains.
Pull the cord to inflate your life.
Live in bliss.
~James Strauss
