Wilderness waiting to be explored

I took my little camera with me when I went to lunch this afternoon. On my way back I snapped a few pictures of things that caught my eye. I thought a couple of them were interesting enough to post, but thought I needed something to go with them. I found this passage in Earth Bound:

"When we think of Maryland we think of crab fishermen and the Chesapeake Bay. When we talk of Texas we talk of sagebrush and oil fields. But there are also mountains in Maryland, and there are piney woods in Texas.

No location on earth can be reduced to a single characteristic. Every place holds more secrets, more treasures, more marvels than have yet been discovered - even the field behind a parking lot is a wilderness waiting to be explored.

Whenever you think you know a place, look more deeply."

Nelson, Brian. Earth Bound: Daily Meditations For All Seasons. Boston, MA: Skinner House, 2004. p. 19.

Photos are by Bicycle Feathers (myself), 2009, Creative Commons, some rights reserved.

Attractive target

The economy is in very bad shape and getting worse. I fully expect to be out of a job before June 30.

The reorganization at work a few weeks ago didn't make any sense to me; a few other people were puzzled by some of the changes too. The changes are starting to make more sense to me now.

I suspect the upper echelon was looking at possible lay-off scenarios and tried to predict the outcome of various scenarios, then decided who was least expendable and most expendable. I think some of the changes may have been an effort to protect some positions from possible lay-offs while making a couple of less critical positions more attractive lay-off targets.

I think my position is a prime candidate for lay-offs and I don't have bumping rights any more. I don't qualify for retirement and I can't afford to retire yet. I think I can live for about a year before taking up prostitution.

The past is not dead

What a coincidence. I didn't ride the motorcycle today because it was much colder and the forecast called for rain and snow in the afternoon. It was snowing and freezing when I left work this evening. Tonight I opened this book and read:

"For all its beauty, a street coated with ice forms a palpable threat if we try to navigate it. But ice also preserves. The intense cold slows down our heartbeats, sometimes saving lives. It also saves a record of the past. Scientists working in Antarctica have found evidence of global warming by drilling down into the ice and studying the cores they remove."

"Ice lets us journey back in time. The past is not dead - not completely. Traces of an earlier world lie all over the planet, frozen in ice."

Nelson, Brian. Earth Bound: Daily Meditations For All Seasons. Boston, MA: Skinner House, 2004. p. 15.

Not only does this speak to my not riding the motorcycle today, the last paragraph speaks to my getting back into motorcycles in my 50's. The past is not dead!

Is it time?

Having a vested interest is good because it helps motivate us and helps to do a good job. Having a vested interest in what we are doing is one thing, being attached is another. We must be careful not to become overly attached.

Our identity and all that we are and everything we do is only temporary. Over time, the Cosmos will wipe away all that we are and everything we have ever done. It is good to be present and interested in the here and now but we need to be able to recognize when it is time to detach, let go and move on.

Is it time?

Changes

There were changes at work Monday morning. I've been given about three times more responsibilities and two more staff positions. One of those staff positions is currently vacant and we are under a hiring freeze.

A part of me is excited and honored by the additional responsibilities, but another part of me is disappointed. I'm mostly disappointed in how the changes were carried out. I was certainly surprised by what unfolded.

I worry if I will be able to fulfill the new responsibilities and get the job done.

Worthy quotes

"The meaning of life is tied up intimately with our plans and projects, the goals we set for ourselves, our dreams, and the successful achievement of them."

"We create our own conscious meanings; we invest the cultural and natural worlds with our own interpretations. We discover, impose upon, and add to nature."

Kurtz, Paul. Affirmations: Joyful and Creative Exuberance. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2004. p. 74.