To Face or Not to Face?

I'm faced with a dilemma this morning. I came up with a list of possible resolutions, but each one is equally unappealing to me.

Which would you choose?

1. Participate and make the most of it
2. Speak up and face the conflict and/or hurt feelings
3. Call in sick for the day and hope things will be different tomorrow
4. Walk away

I think the next logical question is: How important is the matter at hand? Do you think the answer becomes clear then? And how do we get out of the #1-#3 cycle if the matter is not important enough for #2 or #4?

I cannot bear #1 because the idea is so bizarre and opposite of who I am. I cannot bear #2 because the risk is too high. I cannot bear #3 because it goes against my ethics. I cannot bear #4 because I still want to be a part of the whole.

Hmm... Do you ever find yourself in a similar situation?

MBTI Strengths: Perceiving (P) Preference

Here's a quick run-down of the strengths of the Perceiving (P) preference. Radek Pilich has asked me for this post, and I usually try my best to comply when someone asks for information. Mi knowledge, su knowledge... something like that. :-)

1. Ps are very very good at saying "yes" to everything.


2. Ps will always listen to new ideas.


3. Ps make the impossible possible.


4. Ps will train you to be a very patient person.


5. Ps will never make you feel rushed.


6. Ps are at their best when under pressure.


7. Ps do not demand an apology, just more possibilities.


8. Ps see failures as opportunities for improvement.


9. Ps ALWAYS have more fun, because they can find the fun in everything.


10. I'm almost positive that the quote "when one door closes, another one opens" came from a P perspective.

And since we're at it, let's explore the weaknesses:

1. Ps are NOT good at saying "no."
2. Ps will easily get bored.
   
3. Ps are NOT good at finishing a task.
4. Ps are NOT good at being on time.
5. Ps will tend to put things off until the last minute.
6. Ps are NOT good at making decisions.
7. Ps often get caught up in change for change's sake.
8. Ps will stop to have fun even when there's no time.
9. Ps are...
10. Ps will...
    

See? There you have it! Another list unfinished....

Oh well... Let's just focus on the positive. ;-)

Memes, Cliches, and the Fear of Thinking Freely

LIVE THE HELL OUT OF LIFE, THEN ALL THAT REMAINS FOR US IS HEAVEN - I came up with that motto yesterday. What do you think? :-)

We are in the habit of giving to what we feel a form of expression which differs so much from, and which we nevertheless after a little time take to be, reality itself.
~ Marcel Proust

I've loved that quote from the moment I read it a couple years ago in the book How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton. How often do we continue passing on mere words that do not mean anything in and of themselves? We toss phrases around without questioning, but what do those words actually mean in a practical sense?

And about Cliches, Alaine de Botton writes:

We are obliged to create our own language because there are dimensions to ourselves absent from clichés, which require us to flout etiquette in order to convey with greater accuracy the distinctive timbre of our thought.

I apologize to those who have already heard this from me for being redundant; but honestly, aren't most of us mere followers and repeaters of what the majority believes, says, or does? We make assumptions and build belief systems based on ambiguity. If the majority claims something to be true, shall we blindly accept that to be our own truth? Do we not have our own brains?

Is it laziness? Perhaps. My mother tells me, "Most people do not have the luxury to think; they are too busy putting food on the table." Uh... okay... Then why do we exist? I ask. If, hypothetically speaking, all we were meant to do was go through the repetition of work, eat, and sleep until we die (without complaining, mind you), then why bother?

I suggest that perhaps the phrase "created in God's image" is meant to speak to our creative mind. Humans need to think and create freely. Our intelligence is what separates us from other living things. If we don't allow ourselves the freedom to use our minds to constantly ask questions, explore, and create, then we are no different than the other creatures on earth that are only motivated by their biological needs.

I insist that using our creativity is just as vital to the survival of the human race as metabolism and reproduction. What fun is life if we are not continually entertained with our own ability at making things come to life? A machine can be programmed to mimic and repeat. It takes a human being to be original and create something from nothing. Conformity will be the death of creation.

Marcel Proust also said:

Our vanity, our passions, our spirit of imitation, our abstract intelligence, our habits have long been at work, and it is the task of art to undo this work of theirs, making us travel back in the direction from which we have come to the depths where what has really existed lies unknown within us.

There is an artist, a creator, that lives in each of us. The way I see it, that makes life worth living. Let's live the hell out of life!!

Yay!

HILLIGraphy - Seeds for the Soul

Some HILLIGraphy for you as food for thought:

Because it desperately needs to perceive separation, the ego has a very limited capacity to love.

For this very same reason, however, it also has a very great capacity to be afraid.

If the ego is involved, then the love around it is always conditional.

We can't unconditionally love anyone we either need or resist.

We should sing with them...not cling to them.

From the book Seeds for the Soul by Chuck Hillig