Fragile
As I watch the implosion of civilization around me, I am struck by how fragile everything suddenly seems to be, regardless of the scale. Things once thought to be reliable are suddenly tenuous and uncertain. Governments, corporations and collectives at every level seem to be extremely frail. The common wisdom no longer holds true. We see the pillars of our existence, long taken for granted, suddenly standing on foundations of sand or thin, cracking ice. American automotive manufacturing, Newspapers, Wall Street titans and everything else are called into question as change continues to accelerate and new forms of transparency continue to show the Emperor's robes for the lies they have always been.
Meanwhile, even on a personal and professional level, I have an increasing sense of helplessness. I feel increasingly isolated and swept up in events beyond my ability to control or even influence. More than this, problems I once addressed and moved quickly past, seem suddenly inscrutable and insurmountable. It feels like there is a failure in my ability to communicate, as if I am suddenly speaking some foreign, long dead language.
On the other hand, I recently had the opportunity to upgrade my phone to a new Blackberry Storm. I find myself constantly amazed at how far these devices have come in such a short time. I continue to find new and subtle uses for this device to improve the overall quality of my life. For instance, I bought and installed the automotive mount and it's as if my entire car has been upgraded. It's all very ST:TNG! I know this throws everything I just said into stark contrast. I feel like I am more productive than ever, but I also feel like no matter how much I do, it will never be enough. I am a swimmer, who is at the very peak of his strength and form. I have never swum as fast or as fluidly as I do right now. However, I am swimming against the tide, on the crest of a swelling tidal wave.
1 comment:
Everything does seem tenuous, but there's a purpose behind it. Some things need to fall, in order to be rebuilt properly.
The country is undergoing a massive upheaval, as does a snake when shedding its skin. Or a caterpiller achieving its final form as a butterfly. No one can know what pain they go through to achieve their goals, but the end result is the same: renewal.
No good deed goes unpunished, but no sins are kept in secret forever. Just as the darkness which shrouded the country these past eight years will disperse if the President-elect and carefully chosen team he's gathered do their jobs right, so will the flavor of the week--the government bailout--come to an end if the right terms are set in place. A key component of the bill MUST be that the auto industry begin conversion to cleaner energy sources if they want to be saved. Desperate men will cling to anything in poorest times, and right now is the time when justice holds the upper hand over them. The fact the leaders of the Big Three were taken to task so harshly when they arrived at their first Senate meetings in their gas-guzzling cars--and that those self-same sleazeballs haven't gotten their checks freely given to them with a smile, as they thought they would--is an example of Justice's turning wheels.
The Chinese economy reacts off what we as a nation do, and right now it's on the rebound. Yes, it could be temporary...but it will stabilize, as we will stabilize, and become stronger in the end.
This isn't the end, even though many feel it is...look at the events going on CLOSELY: we're at the junction point where the end is met by a new beginning. I'm not just waxing rhapsodically about the historic nature of Obama's election and the hope it brings...I'm talking in general, if you look at the collective history our nation shares with others. This isn't the fall of the Roman Empire which is occurring; it's the beginning of a new day.
It's just that right now, we're in that darkest part everyone always talks about, just before the dawn comes. Dawn's just taking a longer time to get here than usual...but it's on the way.
It is.
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