Fresh Perspectives Harvested ~ Part 3 – In Conclusion
I rely on my intuition to guide me in matters of introspection and personal reflection. When my body, mind and spirit are in agreement concerning any new learning experience I’ve gone through, my intuition informs me that it is time to reflect holistically on that particular experience. Subsequently, I’ll often journal those reflections while remaining focused on any changes of perspective, and any new behaviors or actions I’ve initiated as a result of those changes in perspective. Some experiences take more time than others to process internally. The experience of working my body to the point of heat exhaustion for minimal reward, has been one of those experiences. My intuition will often need to remind me that it takes as long as it takes to work my way through an issue or experience. Through personal growth, I’ve learned not to rush the internal processes, nor try to force my body, mind or spirit to give up the proverbial goods before all three have achieved a harmonious balance. The common misstep of rushing to conclusions usually leaves me dissatisfied and displeased with my own performance in moving beyond the experience, and eventually, I imagine it could deprive me of food for the soul to the point of spiritual starvation. When any one of us sends out our intentions and then follows through with the actions required to bring them to fruition, we are not only influencing the direction of our own life trajectory, but we are also bringing change to the lives of those within our sphere of conscious influence. Intuition has informed me that it is currently time to finalize the internal processes and bring to an end the self-discussion of my experience with heat exhaustion in the here and now.
In the first journal entry on this subject, I implied that the reasoning behind the acceptance of this menial labor job was complicated, and in fact, maybe it did appear to be complicated then. Now that I’ve processed the experience, I know that my reasoning was quite simple and easy to describe, but I was merely evading the self-worth issues involved, by attempting to dismiss them as complications. The problem with that strategy is that it affords very little potential for positive growth. With my intentions now set on laying this whole thing to rest, I’ll start with the simple reasons that I applied for this job.
I physically moved from Allentown to Savannah less than two months ago, but I had been searching for, and applying to, a number of jobs in this area since early June. For whatever reasons, the companies I’ve applied to were not responding to my applications. My ego kept trying to sell me on the idea that I was too old to be of use as an employee and that these companies were passing me by in search of younger bodies. While it is true that age discrimination exists, I prefer to live happily in the self-delusion that it does not apply to me. I like to imagine that I know my physical capabilities well enough that employers will be compelled to perceive my strengths simply by reading the confidence expressed in the cover letter I’ve attached to the resume. I know, laugh out loud, right? The other, more likely scenario, and this one has actually been brought up during recent interviews, is that I am overqualified for the positions I’m applying to. I’m inclined to believe that this is the issue that I’ve been up against, and if it has been, I had not previously been able to achieve clarity on what strategy to take in order to circumvent it. During the past fifteen years I’ve worked in an extremely specialized industry, namely the fine art sculpture casting industry. I’ve reached a high level of expertise in sculpting, molding, casting and finishing fine art sculpture. During the planning stages of making the move from PA to GA, I conducted a number of searches for sculpture production facilities in or near Savannah. Those searches were unsuccessful. So, while many of the skillsets involved in sculpture production are directly transferable to a wide range of design and manufacturing positions, they are so specific to the industry, that they are also a mystery to the majority of employers who are considering my employment. One way that I’ve attempted to resolve this issue is to pursue job positions that I perceive to be related to the skillsets and level of expertise that I’ve acquired, while also requiring that I upgrade my skills to include the specific range of expertise for the new position. To many, this may seem like a reasonable solution to my dilemma, but it falls short when I include the purpose of my moving to Savannah in the first place. I came here with the specific intention to attend a graduate program at the Savannah College of Art and Design starting in the fall of next year. It would be entirely deceitful for me to approach an employer under the premise that I am interested in learning the specific skills of their trade, with intentions to become a valuable employee, when I know from the start that I would not be there long enough for their training investment to pay off. There was a time in my life when I was willfully dishonest, but thankfully those days are far behind me. My moral compass is now set on a course toward progressive growth and healthy choices. I will continue to experience setbacks, I’m sure, but each time I recover from a setback I’ll expect to attain a clearer vision of the pathway ahead.
When I made the decision to apply to this warehouse job through a staffing agency, I did so with a few simple principles in mind. First, I concluded that a temp agency was the way to go because I was only committing short term. That, after all, is the nature of a temporary work assignment. Second, I wanted a position that was primarily dependent on my physical body with very little thought involved. I reasoned that I could use the bulk of my intellectual energies towards journaling every day, continuing my creative pursuits in growing the Alt Unity, and in making manifest the Grand Providentia Projection. And the last consideration, one that was primarily subconscious, but also of equal importance, was that I wanted to remain completely available and able to cut ties quickly in the event that one of the preferred employers that I had applied to earlier were to call on me to commit. Here is where synchronicity stepped in to validate my reasoning. Last Thursday, during my second week at the warehouse, I was contacted by the Savannah College of Art and Design, regarding an application I had submitted back in June. Following an initial phone interview with a staff recruiter from the college, I am feeling quite confident that this position would be ideal for forward movement on all fronts. I’ve not heard back from the college yet, but I know through experience that if it is meant to be, it will be. When I hung up the phone at the end of the interview, I immediately began to prepare for the possibility that SCAD would offer me the position. My first thoughts were concerned with my current residential location with regards to its proximity to the college. The SCAD campus is spread throughout the beautiful Historic District of Savannah, housed in a number of significant historic buildings in that area. It was my first choice to find a room to rent in the district, but I was unable to find a suitable room that was affordable within my budget. Right now, I’m located about twenty minutes away from the Savannah Historic District, so I am hopeful that an offer from the college might open the door to opportunity, making it possible for me to live in that vicinity. Between the time I finished the interview on Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning, I was putting out intentions based on my desire to live in the Historic District. And on Saturday morning the Universe cooperated again! My current roommate approached me with the offer to move out and follow her to another apartment complex that was about ten miles further away from the site of the college. She told me that she was dissatisfied with the apartment we were living in, and she wanted to move back to the complex where she had previously resided. Two aspects of her offer were problematic for me, and I knew by the time she finished her pitch that I would not be able to accept. Being aware and present in the moment that she was asking me, was key to my seeing the two issues so clearly. I could not imagine relocating further away from the place that I had intended to move toward, and I also couldn’t go along with her intentions to go back to a place where she had previously been. So now, I’ve begun the search for a new home closer to my heart’s desire!
For those of you who took the time, and had the patience, to read through this trilogy of entries based on my experiences during the past two weeks, I am sincerely grateful for your presence! Hopefully, now that I’m recovered from the self-inflicted illness, I’ll be able to get back to a steadier routine of writing on this site. Thank you for reading here!
Handshaking has long been used as a traditional gesture of mutual respect among men and women. For many men, there is an unspoken social initiative which gauges another man’s character by the qualities of their handshake. Supposedly, firmness matters. There’s seemingly even bigotry and racism attached to the act of handshaking. In the business world, there seems to be an aversion to any handshake other than the typical white man greeting (missionary position?) demonstrated in the photo to above. Having been raised in a typical, blue-collar, New England household, I was taught that any other form of affection between two grown men was a direct violation of the “Real Man” code, and therefore an abomination to manhood. 
I guess this is why it has taken me so long to get comfortable with the act of hugging another man to show my appreciation of their friendship. For this reason, I’ll be forever appreciative of my Son Christopher and his extensive tribal council of beautiful human beings for their continuing education in the artful expression of bi-gender affection. I love my Son, and I extend that love to all the people he loves, and also to those who love him. If human beings could learn how to put all philosophical, theological and political differences aside and just take care of each other, I firmly believe that we could experience a universal shift in consciousness, moving steadily toward long-term peacefulness and ultimately, a more compassionate, worldwide unity. Well, I guess I’ve revealed my poker
Guilty as charged!
How do we make healthy adjustments to our outward perspective, in order to get a handle on fear, before we are paralyzed by its effects? That is a question best answered by the individual, while keeping in mind their own level of sensitivity to the perceived dangers in their lives. In general terms, and from my own experiences with fear and its impact on the quality of my own life, I will suggest that the best place to start is where the fear originates – in our minds and our hearts. So, introspection can lead to an honest assessment of the dangers that are causing our fear. Putting those perceived ‘dangers’ into perspective can sometimes turn a mountain back into a mole hill, thus relieving stress levels and potentially avoiding an anxiety overload. Anxiety has been defined as future-based fear. The fear of – “What will happen next?” Which brings up another helpful suggestion, one I’ve learned through my study of Eckhart Tolle’s work: If you can manage to bring your attention and intentions into the present moment, relieving yourself of attention to past and future, then there is usually an immediate reduction of stressful, fear-based input, to your mind, body and spirit. This reduction can feel like a warm summer breeze, even during a proverbial ‘dark night of your soul’. It will likely leave you thirsting for more peace, more insight, and rejecting more and more of your previously fearful thought patterns.
“Maternal Sky-Paddler – Defending the Eggs”
On our first evening in New Hampshire, we set up the display at Carlos Cardona’s home, where he hosted an event for the Democratic Party in Laconia. In this photo, Mike is talking to Dan Feltes (Democrat running for Governor of NH) while the Reuters cameraman records the proceedings. 
The artwork enjoyed a favorable welcome by most of the media and passersby at the Artists Against Trump Exhibit in Manchester, New Hampshire, on 2/8/2020. This was an ad-hoc showing of the exhibit, which could be best described as a guerilla-marketing inspired event. The temperature never rose above 20 degrees, with gusty winds delivering a wind chill in the single digits. The fact that we were politically unendorsed, left us open to the ridicule of those who didn’t share our enthusiasm for the message we were promoting. One of the most memorable encounters – A young man walked up to Mike and me and asked, “Are you two guys responsible for this?” Following our affirmative reply, he made the judgmental assertion that we were “Both f***ing losers!” As he walked off down the sidewalk without ever breaking his stride, I couldn’t help but notice that he was wearing worn out clothes with a considerable amount of what appeared to be chocolate stains on the seat of his pants. I thought to myself ‘If that is what winning looks like, I’d prefer to remain a f***ing loser.’ Instinctively, I nearly lost my cool and went after the man, but I decided that it would be a nonproductive strategy, as I was sure he wouldn’t change his attitude no matter what methods I used to convince him.
I now find myself in the autumn years of this life, having spent most of it overcoming the inner turmoil of self-acceptance. It is time to externalize the journey. With a heart of gratitude, I will move forward, into the remaining years of my life on this planet, with conscious intentions to leave a legacy of positive change. This is the best way that I can honor the incredible gift of life I’ve been given by the God of my understanding.
"Grand Providentia United" 