The Prophet of Work

I’ve spent today packing to get ready for our upcoming move to another township about 15 miles away. While spending the day doing the mindless activities of loading and moving boxes, I’ve had some time to clear my mind to nothingness, which has been nice. During the boxing of books I rediscovered my copy of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran and got lost for a few minutes thumbing through the dust covered pages. I came across his passage of Work and since I’ve been experiencing difficulties with my career and feeling a general lack of passion I thought I’d share it. Lately, I feel a depression and anxiety because I know what field I want to be in, I have the training, the knowledge and above all the passion, but it’s delving into that profession where things become grey and confusing. Even within the professional path, there are so many avenues to explore, so for all that i’ve said that I know, I only know the tip of the ‘berg. The essential aspect though is finding meaningful work.

“Then a ploughman said, Speak to us of Work.

And he answered, saying:

You work that you may keep pace with the earth 
and the soul of the earth.

For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the 
seasons, and to step out of life’s procession that 
marches in majesty and proud submission towards 
the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart 
the whispering of the hours turns to music.

Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, 
when all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and 
labour a misfortune.

But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part 
of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that 
dream was born,

And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth 
loving life,

And to love life through labour is to be intimate with 
life’s inmost secret.

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the 
support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, 
then I answer that naught but the sweat of your 
brow shall wash away that which is written.

You have been told also that life is darkness, and in 
your weariness you echo what was said by the 
weary.

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when 
there is urge,

And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge.

And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,

And all work is empty save when there is love;

And when you work with love you bind yourself to 
yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And what is it to work with love?

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from 
your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear 
that cloth.

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your 
beloved were to dwell in that house.

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the 
harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat 
the fruit.

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of 
your own spirit.

And to know that all the blessed dead are standing 
about you and watching.

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, 
‘He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his 
own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who 
ploughs the soil.

‘And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth 
in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes 
the sandals for our feet.’

But I say, not in sleep, but in the overwakefulness of 
noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to 
the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of 
grass;

And he alone is great who turns the voice of the 
wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with 
distaste, it is better than you should leave your work 
and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of 
those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a 
bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your 
grudge distils a poison in the wine.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the 
singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the 
day and the voices of the night. ”

A Human Right

Last night we had a crazy thunder and lighting storm, the humidity fueling this storm with pounding rain. The dog was freaked out and jumpy, so I spent hours just rubbing her belly to let her know that it was going to be alright. While waiting for Susy to get home from class I took the quiet opportunity to read a bit, I feel a backlog right now of magazines and books piled high and I want to read them all. So, while rubbing the dogs belly, I thumbed through my most recent Time magazine that arrived. I came across some statistics that I found alarming and disturbing. While our politicians argue over our energy crisis, that we even had the foresight to predict, these other issues get pushed to the background. In my mind, the energy crisis is actually fairly easy to solve, it’s legislation that makes it difficult to achieve, oh yeah those pesky lobbyists make it worse too. I believe that education, income and health should be a top priority. Here’s what I read: EDUCATION 1 in 4 Americans do not graduate from high school on time, INCOME 1 in 5 American children live in poverty and HEALTH 1 in 6 Americans do not have health insurance http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1823926,00.html). The number one reason people declare bankruptcy is because of medical bills (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/bankruptcy_study.html). This system is broken, and has been for years. I find myself the older I get, moving father along to the left and pushing the realms of socialism. Especially, when it comes to healthcare. People’s health is a right, not a privilege based on those who can afford, or for that matter, those who take better care of themselves. A person, is a person and everyone has the right to live. However they choose to live that life. That too is their right.
Back in 1999 I had an appendectomy without health insurance. The ER visit, surgery and 5 days in the hospital cost me $8,000, thank god that the hospital in St. Thomas at the time did not have air conditioning or TV’s in the rooms, I’d hate to have to pay for those services too. When I was reviewing my bills, the one line item that was my favorite was the latex gloves used for the surgery cost me $4/pr and there were I believe 4-5 people who needed them. Now that’s a bullshit markup.There is no rationale in the world that makes that ok. Right before I went under, I was talking to the anesthesiologist about how much he was going to cost, he told me it was $300 for him to just stick the needle in my spine (I was having a spinal tap), then it was going to be $75 every 15 min. to keep an eye on me, then I had to pay for the actual drug and he didn’t know how much that was, the hospital would charge me for that. I asked him if he could just hit me in the head with a baseball bat for $50 and we call it good. Of course he didn’t. This isn’t a sob story, it is what it is, and because of this hospital stay my credit is fucked until at-least 2010, and probably a few years after that. Ahh the windfall of the medical machine. The reciprocal of this same story is that while living in Ojai, I knew a man who often came into the brew pub I was working at, and then one day he didn’t come in. When I asked what happened, I was told that he too had an appendectomy, but because he didn’t have any insurance, and knew he couldn’t afford the hospital, he curled up on a friends front porch one night, waiting for him to come home, and died from a ruptured appendix.
If we examine the health care system in Germany and other European countries they are far superior to our own system. Yes, there are stories of people waiting in long lines for major medical care and they may die before they get their care, but doesn’t that already happen here. What is the current waiting list like for a heart or liver transplant? Yeah, that’s what I thought, a long ass time, and the person waiting may die while waiting. Sounds the same to me. The only difference is that the person, not from the land of the Free, will actually get their heart for free. While the other will have to pay some ridiculous amount for it.
Then there’s the evil word of tax. Your damn right. A socialist health care system is paid for by taxation, on a sliding scale. In Germany it’s 8% of your annual income. You can see anyone you like, there is no in or out of network crap to deal with. No satanic HMO company who believes they get to play God and approve or not approve you for medical care you need. Here’s info about Germany’s health care system:

“Germany has the world’s oldest universal health care system, with origins dating back to Otto von Bismarck’s Health Insurance Act of 1883. As mandatory health insurance, it originally applied only to low-income workers and certain government employees, but has gradually expanded to cover virtually the entire population.[8] Currently 85% of the population is covered by a basic ‘Statutory Health Insurance’ plan, which provides the standard level of coverage. The remainder opt for private health insurance, which frequently offers additional benefits. According to the World Health Organization, Germany’s health care system was 77% government-funded and 23% privately funded as of 2004.[9]
The government’s role is chiefly regulatory.[citation needed] It convenes representatives of consumers, employers, health care professionals, workers unions, and the insurance industry annually to set national standards and reimbursement levels for particular services.[citation needed] Although the government regulates the process, it is administered by myriad health insurance providers and is financed chiefly by a combination of employer and employee contributions.[citation needed] The government also subsidizes the cost of Statutory Health Insurance for the unemployed.[citation needed] It partially reimburses the costs for low-wage workers, whose premiums are capped at a predetermined value. Higher wage workers pay a premium based on their salary. They may also opt for private insurance, which is generally more expensive, but whose price may vary based on the individual’s health status.[10]
In Germany, most hospital care is provided by salaried physicians and nurses in public non-profit hospitals.[citation needed] A smaller number of private non-profit (e.g., church-owned) hospitals exist, but private hospitals are rare.[citation needed] Ambulatory care is generally provided by physicians in individual or small-group practices.[citation needed] Ambulatory care physicians may not be simultaneously employed by hospitals.[citation needed] Reimbursement is on a fee-for-service basis, but the number of physicians allowed to accept Statutory Health Insurance in a given locale is regulated by the government and professional societies.
As in many countries, rising health care costs have been a cause of concern and have led to a number of changes or reforms in the health care system.[citation needed] Capitated care, such as that provided by health maintenance organizations, has been prohibited since the 1930s, but has been recently reconsidered as a cost containment mechanism.[11] Copayments were introduced in the 1980s in an attempt to prevent overutilization. The average length of hospital stay in Germany has decreased in recent years from 14 days to 9 days, still considerably longer than average stays in the U.S. (5 to 6 days).[12][13] Part of the difference is that the chief consideration for hospital reimbursement is the number of hospital days as opposed to procedures or diagnosis. Drug costs have increased substantially, rising nearly 60% from 1991 through 2005. However, because of the relative simplicity and universality of the reimbursement mechanisms the administrative costs are low, at 160 euro per capita.[citation needed] Despite attempts to contain costs, overall health care expenditures rose to 10.7% of GDP in 2005, comparable to other western European nations, but substantially less than that spent in the U.S. (nearly 16% of GDP).[14]“
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_health_care)

Here’s an article that NPR did on the German health care system and most people are happy with it: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91971406.

What triggered this rant today was another NPR story I heard on my drive into work today, about two people suffering from MS, one lives in the US and the other in the UK (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92067101). One is paying $30/wk for physical therapy and the other has lost their house, declared bankruptcy, can’t afford their prescriptions and is on a two year waiting list to see if they WILL get covered by medicare. I’ll give you two guess, but the first two don’t count as for who lives where. This isn’t fuzzy liberal thinking, it should be a basic human right, being a doctor is a job, yes long hours, expensive schooling, etc, but even when they get out, they’ll make a decent living and be able to pay off those school loans, provided they don’t get sick.

Mouse in the House

Last night was a quiet night around the house. Susy and I both had a long day and a delicious meal, we were in the midst of one of our favorite shows on the tube, and it was at the climatic ending, then out of the corner or our eyes and at the same time, we saw something. There was something strafing on the stone work of the fireplace, were weren’t sure what it was since we had the lights down low, so we blast all the lights we’ve got and it turns out to be a furry little mouse. A cute little grey mouse, their nose moving left and right sniffing their way around. In the meantime Susy exclaims “Oh my God! I’m freaked out!” I quickly grab a pizza paddle that we’ve got next to the fireplace. In my mind, I don’t want this creature to get onto the paddle since we use it to cook. In all this melee Susy thinks I’m going to smash the little thing with our pizza paddle. In the meantime she runs into the kitchenette and grabs a water cup and says “here…trap it” I stand there oafishly dumbfounded processing my plan of attack with this water cup as the mouse dashes into the fireplace and disappears behind the faux logs, he’s gone. I contemplated firing up the fireplace, but then I thought that’d be too cruel, let the thing live, so we set a trap. I also suggested we get a cat, but because Susy has feline allergies, that’s got ruled out quickly. As we lay in bed, I did get some mileage out of it though by saying stuff like, “is that the mouse? Do you see that?” of course she just nestled closer to me. It was sweet. Thanks mouse.

Soundtrack to Life

Dancing around in a room naked, playing the air drums in the car, belting out a scat solo in the shower—shooo-witti-DO-bop! Music is one of the key quintessential ingredients to life. It adds the spice, add a little reggae, throw in the blues, a dash of head banging rock, just a spoonful of country, it surrounds us. Even the crappy music in stores I notice. In fact here at my work, they pump in some jazz in the hallways, it’s faint and I bet these financial types don’t even notice it, yet I recognize it, especially when they play David Sanborn and Bob James’s Maptuo. You can see me bouncing down the halls doing a little jig here and there on my way to some senseless meeting. That’s neither here nor there though. I’ve always been that cliched guy who does live to a beat of a different drummer, and for some reason the drummer in my head is always off key, go figure. The iPod has to be one of the greatest inventions for a person like me, I can have so many tunes in such a small compact place that can go with me anywhere. I no longer have to lug around CDs. I like to travel light.

If you were to think about all the songs, artists, genres and come up with your soundtrack to your life what would it sound like? What tunes trigger those memories of a time gone past, or maybe you’ve got the foresight to know of a tune in the future. Even though an iPod playlist can hold so many more songs, let’s keep this to the 12-14 tracks a CD can hold.

My soundtrack:
1. Chan Chan – Buena Vista Social Club
2. Back to the Earth – Rusted Root
3. Bro’s Hymn – Pennywise
4. Old Man – Neil Young
5. Son of a Sailor – Jimmy Buffet
6. Ignorance – The Lashing Dogs
7. Wild River – The Samples
8. Living in the Promiseland – Willie Nelson
9. Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes – Jimmy Buffet
10. More Than A Feeling – Boston
11. Barstools & Dreamers – Widespread Panic
12. Seven Steps to Heaven – Miles Davis
13. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes – Crosby, Stills & Nash
14. So Much Trouble in the World – Bob Marley

Of course, this is a live document, ever evolving and changing. As it stands for now, this is where I’m at. Some are rooted in deep memories, others remind me of a place.

So what does the soundtrack of your life sound like?

Travels with Steinbeck

A few years back while I was living in Ojai, Susy and I were talking books with a good friend of ours, Texas Tom. In this discussion Tom stated that one of his favorite authors is Steinbeck, If I remember correctly, Susy had just finished teaching Cannery Row. The only introduction to Steinbeck I had in school was Of Mice and Men. Which, now that I’ve read other Steinbeck tales, I believe is not his best work. I want to share a passage from Travels with Charley, when I read it for the first time I experienced an epiphany and I could not only understand, but relate. This is an innate personality characteristic that I must find balance with.

 

   “When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked. Four hoarse blasts of a ship’s whistle still raise the hair on my neck and set my feet to tapping. The sound of a jet, an engine warming up, even the clopping of shod hooves on pavement brings on the ancient shudder, the dry mouth and vacant eye, the hot palms and the churn of the stomach high up under the rib cage. In other words, I don’t improve; in further words, once a bum always a bum. I fear the disease is incurable. I set this matter down not to instruct others but to inform myself.
     When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a built-in garden of reasons to choose from. Next he must plan his trip in time and space, choose a direction and a destination. And last he must implement the journey. How to go, what to take, how long to stay. This part of the process is invariable and immortal. I set it down only so that newcomers to bumdom, like teen-agers in new-hatched sin, will not think they invented it.
     Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process; a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. Tour masters, schedules, reservations, brass-bound and inevitable, dash themselves to wreckage on the personality of the trip. Only when this is recognized can the blow-in-the-glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it. I feel better now, having said this, although only those who have experienced it will understand it.”

Some of My Life’s Lessons

Since I just celebrated a birthday and am now welcoming the mid-30 somethings, I’ve spent some time reflecting on life lessons and what i’ve learned along the way. The list is not in any hierarchy of importance, only numbered to reflect the years I’ve spent on this planet.

1. I know how much I can drink, yet I have the wisdom to not always prove it.
2. Education is critical to keep our society from derailing into intolerance & mayhem, and it should be equal and free to all.
3. Marriage can be wonderfully challenging, but sharing your life with the person of your dreams is magical.
4. Its perfectly OK to draw outside the lines, in fact encourage it!
5. Credit Cards are actually due when they say they are. My bad.
6. It’s impossible to domesticate a wild bird by pouring salt on their tail.
7. There isn’t a grease pole tall enough that I can’t shimmy up.
8. Rubbing the embryonic sack off of a puppy, whose just minutes old because of a c-section, while shaking it in an up/down motion to clear the lungs and watch them come to life, is worth getting up at 4 am for, its amazing.
9. Playing in the woods, is so much cooler than the Wii.
10. Being thrown into the deep end of a pool doesn’t teach anyone how to swim.
11. DVD players in cars?? Just look out the window, it’s better.
12. Causing a scene can be fun.
13. When experiencing vertigo, just spit, and let gravity tell you which way is down.
14. Learn to drive a stick shift, you never know when it’ll come in handy.
15. Bowling, that’s the only time to drink Bud.
16. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, doesn’t mean you should step on people.
17. Traveling makes you humble, so don’t be a tourist.
18. Religion is personal, when you die, it’s between you and your beliefs.
19. Listen to music everyday & learn to appreciate all genres.
20. 98% of the time, it’s not the computer, it’s the user
21. Follow your passion, believe in it, and work to achieve it
22. Ties are for job interviews, weddings and funerals.
23. Go barefoot whenever possible
24. Sushi & Tequila don’t mix
25. Respect the Ocean
26. Dutch oven’s are best with either hummus or eggs.
27. Paying attention to politics & our government is important
28. Being naked isn’t shameful
29. The grass most likely isn’t greener on the other side, that’s just an oasis
30. A good way to introduce someone to camping, is on a tropical beach.
31. When TP’ing a house, pay attention to the weather
32. Quitting smoking is probably the hardest thing to do
33. When on a hike and someone says, “It’s just around the next corner” … that’s bullshit.
34. Traveling around & experiencing your own country is just as powerful as anything overseas.

Cheers.