Perception

I've found it interesting that over the last six months my relationship with customers has changed. Customers have started asking, 'how are you doing?' out of concern for me and our retail shop/handmade business. They ask a lot of questions about sales and money, and whether we're going to be 'okay.' Some have been customers for many years, loyally purchasing products, but never thought to ask us before. Maybe they thought it was impolite to ask someone how much money they made, or they just assumed everything was fine. However, since September when news of the financial crisis took flight, our customers simply haven't been taking us for granted. I'd like to think we never took them for granted, but odds are, there were times when we did. All in all, one positive outcome of the overarching fear that exists is the strengthening of the relationship I have with my customers, and the personal caring that has been expressed between us. It was truly unexpected.

Richard, I think the reason people are upbeat on Twitter is because if you're negative or mean, people will either drop you or never even start following. People who tend to be on twitter are active and strong, by and large, and intelligent, and they aren't going to go in for a behavior, like complaining, that causes trouble for them. Besides, they're mostly, on one level or another, in business for themselves, so everything's riding on their good performance.

I have to say I don't see these days as ones of dire import. Rather, things we have been doing for a long time are coming home to roost. Our awareness is "up" now on matters such as borrowing money and lack of banking accountability, unjust tax laws, polluting, and lack of community. One might say these are the worst of times and the best of times -- because I really do believe these problems will now begin being addressed, and addressing them is a great opportunity which comes out of crisis. You've probably heard before that the Chinese symbol for crisis is a conjoining of danger and opportunity.

<abbr>Sonja Cassella´s last blog post..Review of Roberto Devereux by Gaetano Donizetti</abbr>

Great post. I've been thinking recently about hope born of naive optimism vs. hope born of despair. I've been feeling a lot of despair recently, and going deeper into the despair to find hope within it, rather than outside of it. It's painful as heck! But I've tried the Panglossian glasses, but the first noble truth of Buddhism still looks real to me: life is suffering. But it is a noble truth if one accepts it fully and lives joyfully anyway.

I've also been unfollowing overly happy people on Twitter. :)

Hey Duff,
Thanks for your input. It seems some of us are meant to carry the load, while others go on unawares. Jung said there is no gain in consciousness without suffering, which goes against some of the ideas of transcendental meditation for instance. His point being that the ego, in order to gain in this way, must relinquish control, which is by definition how it functions.

Much has been said to this point, but I feel compelled to share a personal experience I had yesterday, and, more generally, this past year.

I left for work w/o my wallet b/c I could not find it. I emailed my wife and asked if she had it. She did not, and could not find it. I began to go into stress mode, as all my ID, CCs and, regrettably, my SS card were in that wallet. For 2 solid hours, as I worked, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I feared the worst.

Shortly before I finished work, my wife emailed me and said she found my wallet. Huge relief. After work we went into town and I hung at a coffee shop while she looked in some stores. We went about our day as usual. Last night, prior to retiring, I was getting my things together for work today and I could not find my wallet. It was nowhere to be found. I mentally went through my day and decided to call the coffee shop I was in earlier. They had my wallet.

We spend so much of our time worrying about bad things (losing my wallet) when times are good (when, in fact, I had not lost my wallet), I think that has 2 consequences. First, it seems to bring about the very bad times you're worried about (actually losing my wallet), and second, it all but demands the opposite be true as well. Namely, that we expect good things when times are bad.

Perhaps it's human nature, I don't know. It certainly doesnt seem rational. But I've experienced both sides of that spectrum at different times in my life, and I have to confess...I prefer optimism during bad times over pessimism during good times.

Counterintuitive, I think...but we are what we think about. Cheers.

<abbr>Jeb Dickerson´s last blog post..Becoming…</abbr>

Neat story Jeb!
Funny how the trickster can get activated and play havoc with us. I wonder why that energy would be activated in the unconscious at this point and then remember that you have just recently connected with your dream life again. See, the unconscious is more than our dreams, it's always there. It's as if the unconscious is saying "look mister, it's not your wallet where the value is..."

Well said Richard - "hope, realizing the gravity can change the situation, not optimism rooted in denial." (I actually didn't think you were promoting pessimism :-))

I actually don't believe in the "power of positive thinking" - an artificially implanted positive thought in a fundamentally "negative" thought pattern won't change very much. I think our sub-consicous tends to relate to those kinds of thoughts like they are gnats! To bring a possibility to life, including finding our way out of the current crisis we must be aware of and own the current reality within ourselves and the world.

<abbr>Susan Mazza´s last blog post..A Moment of Courage - Part II</abbr>

Susan,
I really hold tight to the idea that the issue is both within and without. You have summed up what i have been attempting to articulate beautifully. Thank you for your continued participation. You rock.

Logging in late on this one ... But appreciate your bringing up the subject, Richard, as it's a profound one. In town, some business people smile a bit too brightly and say, "I refuse to participate in the recession."

I know what depression is, and increasingly I've come to understand participation in life as a choice, a conscious and difficult step away from depression. The negative's magnetic pull is stronger, it seems, than that of the positive. We are rightfully afraid of depression; we know it means death. We have to manufacture optimism, force it a bit, because we know that's the living choice.

Hell is all around us. Heaven, we must believe into being.

Mary, I like that you identify the seriousness of the current situation. Thanks for your contribution.

Richard, very optimistic to believe we are in the middle of the crisis. Perhaps this is just the start of the beginning (of the end). Who knows what might evolve if the US customer really curbs consuming for a prolonged time? What if nobody wants to buy US government bonds any more? What if the US $ really tanks and the world economy with it?

We are still living in the golden days, it could get a lot worse. But I agree with Tim. We have no choice but to be optimistic. There is no viable option. We cannot live in a world with 6.7 billion people and a devastated financial infrastructure. Things have to change slowly and not in a landslide.

I am afraid - but I believe in responsible optimism.

<abbr>Detlef Cordes´s last blog post..The Lonely Wolves Economy</abbr>

Hi Detlef,
Responsible optimism is fine in my book as well, just not blind optimism.

There was a dude who once told me (this was about 26 hours ago) that panicking during "the crisis" is simply not worthwhile. This is not because things aren't bad, mind you - they're extremely bad, we know this.

It's because panicking doesn't do anything . Maybe we're not so much being insanely optimistic as we are ignoring the desire to panic. Why would we waste our time doing something pointless?

<abbr>Tim´s last blog post..2009 NTC Scholarships</abbr>

Hi Tim,
I do like the polar relationship you develop between panic and optimism. My sense is this: if we have an opportunity for collective growth through this experience, we need to look the panic in the face and overcome it.

If Jung is not enough, Buddha also said "Life is Suffering" the sooner we accept that, and stop "hiding" from it, the sooner we can become enlightened beings....or at least honest beings.

<abbr>Jay´s last blog post..What Popeye Taught Me About Life</abbr>

Hi Jay. Yes, acceptance is something this is calling for as well...

Perhaps not on Twitter, but there is certainly "collective fear" in the air. People may not easily verbalize but you can hear it in their sighs and see it in their brows. I'm not sure, Richard, but what are your thoughts on collective fear; that there may be some comfort because we are all in it together? It's a weak point of argument I know, but what else do we have? Perhaps we can all turn this collective fear into collective hope?

It is also my opinion that there isn't an individual out there who knows so/too much that he can be called a pessimist.

I recall now a saying I've heard that holds true from my experience:

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change."

As always, Richard, it is such tremendous enjoyment to stop in to see what your thoughts have kneaded for the sharing! :)

Best Always,
Henie

<abbr>Henie´s last blog post..Wednesday Wishes</abbr>

Hi Henie,
I too believe in the transformative power of our seeing...but would argue that hope, realizing the gravity can change the situation, not optimism rooted in denial.

The Jung quote and the "performance" photo will help me make my points. I'm no optimist but I didn't see a potential riot in that photo. It is all in how one sees things 'and not how they (situations?) are in themselves'. So, according to this, the actual state of the economy, for example, is of little relevance.

I see a few things at work here. Most Westerners think as individuals, not as part of a collective. For those with income , family and personal support systems (many on Twitter), their glass is not yet empty. It would take a measure of denial and ungratefulness for them to say it is. They have faith that things will be okay, soon enough. Should things go wrong, they have support.

There's also the healthy resignation in knowing that some things are out of our control.
So, "Be not afraid"

Unless collective enthusiasm is riding side by side with collective mental illness, I'm not sure how the lack of pessimism can be interpreted as fear. Something is wrong with pessimism and lack of it being interpreted the same way.

I think the "problem" is in the nature of marketing.

Twitter is a social media/networking tool. Image, marketing, branding are the core of this "community". Same with dating sites & friendship sites. Expressions of pessimism, fear and insecurity can hurt "personal brands". The marketing aspect of SM is what prevents real conversation from happening and real feelings from being expressed--well, except by the few who have nothing to sell and those who have "made it".

Because of the nature of marketing, real conversations cannot occur unless in a protected environment. Tweeple are mainly concerned with gaining and maintaining "followers". The term "followers" is more realistic than "Friends" but it is still a strange relationship to seek--except in marketing/business.

Let's say there is some level of denial. I live in Los Angeles where yesterday, a man shot and killed his wife, his 5 children and himself. In his suicide letter, he sited the recent layoffs of he and his wife as the reason. (Though suspicious) I think if some measure of denial could have kept this man afloat long enough for others to picked up his distress signals, we may have had a better outcome.

In the months or years ahead, our sensitivity to others-- our level of humanity will be tested. As individuals and as marketers, these are areas in which we are weak.

Great post, as usual.

Hello Itsdae,
The branding point is really interesting to me. I think it's an interesting challenge for all of us to attempt to be accurate. Again, I'm not talking pessimism instead of optimism, but a sense of rigorous honesty as opposed to both. Rigoursous honesty can be tied to hope, but a optimism riddled with denial has no room for the power of hope to take root.

I'm awed by the amount to which others believe in mortals and rely on hope. My faith in man is much thinner than that. I think that half of the optimism is the belief that we are free from deception. The sense that now that we know the issues, are being told the truth (so he says). The second half, we are being asked to be part of the solution, to collectively change the world. We did in the 60s, we can do it again. Yes we can. The world is looking for us to do it. Where do I sign up? Kinda kooky Kool-aidish.

For a decade prior we've been told to shop and let the experts handle the issues and we got kicked, kicked real hard. Now we are being asked to help, to serve. People want to be needed, they want to be part of the solution. I find too that people are giddy with honesty. They admit they have no savings, used credit cards to the hilt, have no retirement, are filing bankruptcy, lost their job. When we were spending according to presidential credo we lied to each other and ourselves and had shame about our secrets.

Now that we are all being honest, we are flush with naivety of what it takes to fix these ills. But, what big step in any one's life has been taken without this euphoric denial of the reality. None. God bless us when the adrenaline wears off.

Hey Kate,
Jung taught that there is no coming to consciousness without suffering. Let's try that on for size again: none. The possibility might exist that the slight opening for an expanded collective consciousness that the sixties seemed to promise but not realize could flower through this experience...but if that seems optimistic, I'll just add that we are not going to enjoy it.

It's bad out there for sure. I see it clearly. There's really no where to hide from the bad news. I am making changes in my own life and work hard every day to support my clients (myself and my family) in being able to see opportunities and be at work on something that can make a difference because dwelling in the ever persistent flow of bad news can stop us from doing what we need to do to turn things around.

I love the positive energy in Twitter. It is one place where I can go to have my energy refueled. Nonetheless your post does provoke a question for me - why are people so positive on Twitter? Or is it just a matter of who I am choosing to follow/attracting. Maybe there is a whole other conversation going on in Twitter that I am not part of. For now I'm happy with the way it is even if in the end it turns out it is a place of denial.

<abbr>Susan Mazza´s last blog post..A Moment of Courage - Part II</abbr>

Fair enough Susan, and note I'm not advocating pessimism but that we need not ignore the realities we find ourselves in. Personally, I like trusting and cultivating a posture of "not fearing" instead of pretending...

If you talk to anyone, you can see the denial in their eyes. They are playing the "fake it till they make it" game, a game they can not possibly win. Repressing this all into our collective shadow is only going to make things worse- we as a country, world, and as individuals need to face the realism of this wound because this scab will leave a permanent scar.

<abbr>Jay´s last blog post..What Popeye Taught Me About Life</abbr>

Well Jay, then we should keep talking of it. I was a bit concerned steering this direction with these two posts. I appreciate your feedback

One of my favorite sayings is that "pessimists have better sources of information." But even responsible optimism (is there such a thing) requires seeing a problem accurately. We may look for an angle of vision, for a "reframing" to get a new diagnosis and thereby a new treatment, but rose colored glases distort no less than dark ones.

Denial is a broad that runs through America like the Mississippi. We don't like to look at things to closely.

<abbr>Sid Parham´s last blog post..Theater and the Creative Commons</abbr>

Hey Sid, perhaps the continued abandonment of New Orleans this decade is tied to the mythos of place, how the whole country does empty out there, with the collective prevalence of denial perpetuating that sad story of abandonment.

It is much easier to look at a world through rose colored glasses then to realize we have 20/20 vision and did not need the glasses in the first place. When ignorance is the platform for which you stand ignoring and hoping it goes away is your "A" game.

Hey Jay,
Yes, those frightening rose colored glasses. Jung pointed out that cruelty is the unconscious shadow of sentimentality. Is it not just possible that lurking in the unconscious behind all this optimism is a paranoia riddled with fear?