There is so much news coming out about layoffs, especially in my industry, home building, that news of one more home builder closing his doors shouldn't affect me. Today, a friend told me that a builder he used to work for, and that I know personally, closed his doors and laid off his entire staff this week. I cannot reveal his name to protect his dignity but I will tell you that I respect him. As do his peers. We'll call him Don.
Don's father died when he was the age of 9 and he went to work to help support his mother and siblings. He was denied a childhood from the fate that befell him but he never complained and he never felt cheated. I actually interviewed with Don when I first came back to Atlanta but as it turned out, a better offer seemed more enticing.
Most of Don's staff went back 20 years with him. He was honest, hardworking and he built a pretty dang good home. I do not doubt for a minute that Don will survive and come back stronger than ever. He is made of the right stuff.
It's interesting to see how people handle these type of things. When you're working, it's not quite as compelling. There is a website that cites failed builders. It gloats over the latest failure in the home building industry. I can't imagine applauding the failure of anyone who tries their heart out to make a small business work. According to the N. Y. Times this morning, it is expected that no less than 14,000 more small businesses will fail by the end of the year. Where is the joy in that?
Most of the trades that service me as a home builder are trying very hard to survive. My plumbing contractor laid off 14 so far this week. My electrical contractor is down from 100 employees and 50 trucks running to 5 employees and 4 trucks running (both down 1 from yesterday). More than half of the Latino workers are back south. New Permits that hit a high of almost 56,000 in Atlanta a couple of years ago are going to end up 2008 around 14,000, and it is expected that as few as 8,000 permits will be issued for new projects in 2009.
Believe me, I thank God every morning for the opportunity to do what I do, for as long as it exists. Those that have trumpeted "let the free market run its course" are getting their wish. I have always thought that way. I am quietly and reverently praying that we have neared the bottom and recovery is around the corner. There are so many that now have no option but to reinvent themselves, uproot their families and move, wipe out their savings and get out of bed every morning with hope for the future. God bless them.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Pollyannish or Profound?
About six months ago my brother, Graham, called me from Port Angeles, Washington and told me there was a movie he had just seen that Stephanie and I have to see. I could hear it in his voice. There was something he deemed remarkable in this film. Our not going to public theaters delayed it somewhat, but we saw it on Pay-per-View a few weeks later and found "The Secret" to be more of a documentary, with the centerpiece being the exhortation to find the "truth" discussed within. The film claimed that a common thread runs through history and a nugget of wisdom that has been embraced by the genius of each age of mankind. The thread, or nugget, being the key of finding the joy and fulfillment we all chase in our own way.
Now, when it comes to profundity, I'm as big a skeptic as the next guy, and like all things simplistic, I discounted and discarded this spiritual flash of light in less than 24 hours. Put another way, I saw the light and put on some Raybans. Like almost everyone, I am too busy chasing life, or in some cases, running away from it, to be bothered with reflection. The whole thing with personal discovery is invariably disquieting. Try taking a halogen beam into your attic, that one closet or the unfinished portion of your basement and shine it around. Ugh, what a mess. Looking at one's intellectual and spiritual constructs without the labyrinthine justifications and defenses we hide behind is well, unsettling at best.
A couple of weeks ago, fed up with the stresses and injustices of my profession, I walked into a book store near our home and began wandering through the aisles. Ever the shopper, I went to a discount table and began thumbing through the books. I found a small book that had "40% off cover price". Naturally, this prompted me to peruse the contents. As I read, I was astonished at the effect this little collection of nuggets was having on me. After 10 or 15 minutes of getting lost in the land of Wisdom, I closed the book and looked at the title: "The Secret". Hmmm. Never wanting to get lost in the la-la land that psychologists term "magical thinking", I still carried it to the checkout counter and purchased it. I have been reading it on and off lately and I am amazed at the effect it is having on me.
Yeah, yeah. I know. There have been deaths and stress in my life so I'm more prone to be affected by such tripe. But, in reality, the reading of this missive has been lifting me not only out of my depression of loss, but also giving me a joy and perspective I've never had before. I can read your mind: "Oh God, another religious nut in the family". No. This isn't a conversion experience where I lay at the altar, slain in the Spirit. It's just a slow awakening to what and how we experience today, the exact same world we lived in yesterday. Or, our ability to recognize a spiritual law much like the physical law of gravity, both immutable.
Without too much more detail, as my daughter Emily tells me lovingly that my blogs are way too long, I also fear that any attempt on my part to encourage others to read "The Secret", due to my inadequate writing skills, will instead innoculate the reader against ever picking it up. Let me try to distill it. There is a law that operates in our world called the "Law of Attraction". It knows no person, place or thing, much like gravity. It simply exists. We have all noticed that when we are down and displaced, things typically only get worse, never better. "Death comes in threes". "Murphy's Law again." Our suffering attracts even more suffering. Then, there are those among us who seem bulletproof. They are always "up", always full of joy, always reaping where they didn't sow, performing feats of incredible accomplishment, etc. The Law of Attraction simply put, states that we attract what we envision for ourselves. It cites religious leaders statements, quotes from the greatest minds of our history books and remarkably, they all say exactly the same thing: "We are what we think we are." "We have what we envision for ourselves." "We create our own lives."
Now, not to be fooled by such simplicity, I've actually attempted to put this law to the test. Surprisingly, it's proven to be true. By envisioning those things, small things, I desire to be true, they start to materialize. No, I'm not smoking anything. Believe it or not, I'm amazed at this dynamic. I am more outgoing, joyful, at peace and stress-free than I've ever been. O.K., maybe I have duped myself in some way, but nevertheless, this nugget is yielding rewards. I encourage anyone who has the slightest interest in such things to ready this book. It will not disappoint.
Now, when it comes to profundity, I'm as big a skeptic as the next guy, and like all things simplistic, I discounted and discarded this spiritual flash of light in less than 24 hours. Put another way, I saw the light and put on some Raybans. Like almost everyone, I am too busy chasing life, or in some cases, running away from it, to be bothered with reflection. The whole thing with personal discovery is invariably disquieting. Try taking a halogen beam into your attic, that one closet or the unfinished portion of your basement and shine it around. Ugh, what a mess. Looking at one's intellectual and spiritual constructs without the labyrinthine justifications and defenses we hide behind is well, unsettling at best.
A couple of weeks ago, fed up with the stresses and injustices of my profession, I walked into a book store near our home and began wandering through the aisles. Ever the shopper, I went to a discount table and began thumbing through the books. I found a small book that had "40% off cover price". Naturally, this prompted me to peruse the contents. As I read, I was astonished at the effect this little collection of nuggets was having on me. After 10 or 15 minutes of getting lost in the land of Wisdom, I closed the book and looked at the title: "The Secret". Hmmm. Never wanting to get lost in the la-la land that psychologists term "magical thinking", I still carried it to the checkout counter and purchased it. I have been reading it on and off lately and I am amazed at the effect it is having on me.
Yeah, yeah. I know. There have been deaths and stress in my life so I'm more prone to be affected by such tripe. But, in reality, the reading of this missive has been lifting me not only out of my depression of loss, but also giving me a joy and perspective I've never had before. I can read your mind: "Oh God, another religious nut in the family". No. This isn't a conversion experience where I lay at the altar, slain in the Spirit. It's just a slow awakening to what and how we experience today, the exact same world we lived in yesterday. Or, our ability to recognize a spiritual law much like the physical law of gravity, both immutable.
Without too much more detail, as my daughter Emily tells me lovingly that my blogs are way too long, I also fear that any attempt on my part to encourage others to read "The Secret", due to my inadequate writing skills, will instead innoculate the reader against ever picking it up. Let me try to distill it. There is a law that operates in our world called the "Law of Attraction". It knows no person, place or thing, much like gravity. It simply exists. We have all noticed that when we are down and displaced, things typically only get worse, never better. "Death comes in threes". "Murphy's Law again." Our suffering attracts even more suffering. Then, there are those among us who seem bulletproof. They are always "up", always full of joy, always reaping where they didn't sow, performing feats of incredible accomplishment, etc. The Law of Attraction simply put, states that we attract what we envision for ourselves. It cites religious leaders statements, quotes from the greatest minds of our history books and remarkably, they all say exactly the same thing: "We are what we think we are." "We have what we envision for ourselves." "We create our own lives."
Now, not to be fooled by such simplicity, I've actually attempted to put this law to the test. Surprisingly, it's proven to be true. By envisioning those things, small things, I desire to be true, they start to materialize. No, I'm not smoking anything. Believe it or not, I'm amazed at this dynamic. I am more outgoing, joyful, at peace and stress-free than I've ever been. O.K., maybe I have duped myself in some way, but nevertheless, this nugget is yielding rewards. I encourage anyone who has the slightest interest in such things to ready this book. It will not disappoint.
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