Alright Alright. So the inauguration is over and that sense of bliss is somehow slowly fading away as you leave the grocery store with only 2 bags (not even full) and $75 bucks less in your pocket. When did lemons start costing $1.00 EACH? Obama has his sights set on the future and so do we but in the meantime it's our job to stay afloat and find things that make us happy. Change is good. A very wise woman once told me..as many times as you can remember say to yourself "change is good, it works for me not against me". I can't tell you how often playing that like a broken record in my head has gotten me through ridiculously tough times. I have a tendency to resist change. I have worked like a beast not to and thus suffer needless worry and stress. Lucky for me, change shows up at my door frequently. As some of you know I began working on an Oil Trading Desk this past year. I thought I would hate this job. I thought for sure it was a change that meant the time had come for me to leave the corporate nipple. If you don't change the Universe will find a way to force your right? (Thanks Republicans for giving us 8 years of Bush to bring in the change this country so desperately needed!)
But, as it turns out I've met some amazing people and learned a lot. Before all the drama of Oil prices going out of control I had an interesting conversation with one of the big shot caller traders on the desk. I was expressing my concern that if oil prices went too high what this would mean not just our country but the rest of the world. Would this bring civil unrest in some places? (it did) Would food prices go up? (it did) Would people suffer as a result? (they did) His response caught me by surprise. He said well if it goes up then the country and the world have no choice but to change and find alternate fuels and alter the way they live. (we did). The prices sky rocketed and have recently tanked. They've tanked because as a country we changed. We used less gas. The world used less gas. Now, I don't know if this change will stick. But the point is if we wanted to we can all make a difference. Quickly. If the intention is there. This little oil example occurred in the space of SIX months. In the summer we had bets on how high it would go (it went higher than anyone had guessed) and by December we were placing bets on how low it would hit by December 31st (it went lower than anyone had imagined. What if everyone suddenly decided....I'm gonna grow my own vegetables. I'm gonna sew my own clothes. I'm going to volunteer 2 hours a week to someone who needs help.
But, I digress......my point of bringing up the fact that all of sudden 20 bucks in our pocket feels like five is...and the fact that many people are losing their jobs is....maybe it's an opportunity to find joy in little things. Wow the snow looks beautiful outside...or if you are in California you notice how pretty the hills look at dusk. Maybe you spend more time with your friends watching a movie at home or making dinner instead of going out some place where it's too loud to hear one another. Those little things that when we are all wrapped up in the warmth of that beauty the worries become smaller and the feeling of happiness grows bigger as it always should.
And that is goooooood.
Sorry! this video was removed by the time I posted..weird! But if you click on the Title above "Don't worry be happy" it will direct you to the video. Enjoy!
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