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Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy. Show all posts

5/3/12

High Wattage People

Who create negative low energy...

Some people are difficult to be around and we all have them somewhere in our lives whether they're family, friends, co-workers, a neighbor or the friend of a friend. It's not necessarily the needy people or the ones who go from one drama to another that are the hardest for me to take. It's the negative, high-strung, wire tight person who dissipates all the positive energy out of a room merely by their presence. They remind me of being just under low hanging high power lines that you can hear the singing of the static electricity that emanates from them. The swing of the wires, zinging in the air and hair standing on end is unnerving.


They are vampires of calm and emotion, positive thinking and good spirit who suck the atmosphere around them dry in a void. Worse, sometimes they can't be avoided and the best you can do is be prepared with healthy defenses mechanisms and placing an invisible shield of self protection around you. Somehow at times they manage to break the barrier and leave you exhausted. In my case I work with someone like that and most of the time I can roll my eyes and turn my back but there are days when she hits every nerve. I won't pretend that sometimes in those moments I want her to roll on the floor in twisted agony and writhe as if she was a snake run over by a truck. Usually my better nature regains control and I turn my attention to something else but occasionally she gets a tongue lashing that I rarely succumb to but people who know me are well aware of. It doesn't happen often and only strikes those that generally get on everyone else's nerves also. My co-workers I think secretly enjoy it and my manager knows that I won't apologize to her but that I do feel guilty about losing control and will apologize to him since it puts him in a difficult spot.

These people get the better of us I think mostly because it is human nature to be able to take only so much negative energy. Some people actually like being around this personality type for several reasons but usually to amplify their own anger and confusion. Those two inner fears, anger and confusion are what I believe drive these malignant spirited people and I still have difficulty understanding why they haven't figured themselves out yet and redirected their lives. Nonetheless they haven't and regretfully the rest of us somehow must tolerate it. As agitating as it can be to be around them the best way I have figured out to accept they exist is know that sooner or later they will implode on their own. The bottom line is I can do nothing about that and all any of us can do is the best we can to manage ourselves recognizing we may sometimes fail at it. Then we need to forgive ourselves for our own human nature and move on.

10/21/11

There Is No Place

Like Our Place...

Since 2008 I have been taking road trips through Arizona, New Mexico and the Inland Empire of California sometimes alone and other times with my partner. During my trips I talk with local people, observe local color as well as visit friends and make new ones. I've also watched the area change during this economic period and how it has affected people and the landscape. It is clear there has not been an economic recovery or that we are merely in a double dip but in some sort of disruptive economic contraction that is of greater magnitude and will take time to resolve. The question now is how do we cope and make the best use of what we have and keep ourselves alive and prosperous in mind and spirit?


There are pockets on the map that are doing fairly well, some in a temporary mini-boom. The majority of places of any size are at a minimum in a holding pattern of stagnation at best while there are areas that are clearly in a doomsday bust. You see it in small things such as service at a decent hotel is slightly degraded to entire blocks of buildings empty, broken down and facilities lacking. The most telling thing is people and what is in their eyes.

Many people are clearly not doing or handling the downturn well. There are others who keep going through their daily routine seemingly happy enough but you can sense by looking in their eyes many of them have troubles. Others eyes are clear and bright, full of the knowledge that times are getting tougher but there is still life to live and make the most of. Those are the people I'm drawn to and hold fascinating conversations with about the condition of our region and how to make the best of it.

The mainstream media, politicians and special interest groups would have us believe all kinds of things about each other. One thing that has been consistent in travelling this region as time has tattered and worn down structures and people is the resilience of a significant percentage of the population. That has not changed. They come in all sizes and shapes, colors and age but all of them carry a spirit that is healthy to be around. These are the people I'm surrounding myself with to maintain a high level of energy and optimism so I may return the favor. In the long term our place is in our minds and souls and how we choose to preserve and uplift ourselves and others.