How does it feel to suddenly find out your income is about to be slashed to the point where you’re going to have to dig into your savings just to stay above water?
Not good! Not good at all!
My employer just informed the entire company that all employees would be furloughed for two weeks, at our scheduling convenience, of course! For many of the top executives, this is hardly a hardship. But for many of the line workers, the loss of two weeks pay may be financially devastating.
The reaction was as expected. The halls were filled with the sounds of verbal expressions of angst, grumbling, anger and a general reduction in the morale, even if the furloughs were sold as being “for the good of the company”. It’s another way of saying “be glad you still have a job”! I understand business, but I also understand the financial fear that many now face for the upcoming months. Can you blame anyone for feeling like this?
A loss of two weeks pay is difficult for me but not necessarily devastating. I have been in worse situations before and have come up on top. Yet, I was caught up in the disappointment, fear and even anger at the “top executives” who came up with this idea.
But allowing myself to wallow in this does not solve my problem. If anything at all, it exacerbates it!
It creates an immediate and powerful energy of LACK that radiates from my being. I start seeing that I don’t have enough instead of realizing that I have reserves and resources to draw upon for this short period of time.
But even more importantly, I was making an awful choice! And that was the most important thing of all.
I chose to think negatively and it affected my entire evening and possibly even my health (couldn’t sleep last night).
We can chose what we imagine, what we entertain in our minds. We can follow the throng down the road of despair instead of following the paved road that people seem to ignore.
Happiness is not in the money but in the images I entertain in my head. It is that happiness that changes the radiation we send out which, in turn, attracts the conditions and circumstances of our lives. The money is a result of the radiation we emit, the vibration of our character. It is merely a by-product! And the vibration itself, is a choice!
So I chose to wallow in prosperity, not lack. It’s not the money that I consider prosperity. It is the feeling of freedom and peace that money brings. The money is just a means to prosperity.
Once I made this choice, things began to look a little different. Losing two weeks pay means that I need to tighten my belt a little bit. Perhaps I’ll gain that smaller waistline I always wanted by buying simpler, healthier food rather than boxed pizza. I’ll spend less time in Starbucks and drink a lot less coffee. I’ll go walking instead of eating out. I have a great excuse to actually have a healthier and happier life.
Do I get a part-time job? Maybe, maybe not. But I refuse to do it out of fear. Why not look for a part-time job where I can actually play, one that I am passionate about? Does the job exist? Who says it doesn’t? And it may just transition me to a new career for retirement. (As for retirement, I don’t want to stop working. I just want to get more creative and get paid to play.)
I get to stay home more instead of going out which gives me more time to read (I’m an introvert, if you can’t already tell). I can spend more time working on music and creating songs and videos.
I can spend more time writing and thinking about futuristic ideas. That means more blog entries!!
Now, the furlough isn’t as bad as it originally seemed. Now, I see it as an opportunity, a challenge, a game! It has given me time!! It’s an opportunity to find and create whatever conditions I need and want to gain freedom, both financial and personal. It is an impetus, a push, a signal that things are about to change. But that change depends on my frame of mind!
When I first got notice about the furlough, I was all doom and gloom, just like everybody else. But there is also an excitement. It’s an excitement of discovery, of being pushed to find another path that may supplement what I already have. It is a path that may just lead to more fun.
There is always something out there but we fail to see it because we are closed to it. I actually love my job. It is mentally engaging and challenging. It gives me the opportunity to create and invent and challenges me to find new ways to do things. It gives the
Now I can apply this to help others and I am given the impetus to do so.
Sometimes, we are given road blocks, not to stop us, but to move us in the direction of our dreams. All we have to do, is realize that and just follow the signs.
And above all, relax and chose the thoughts and images that create a sense of excitement and adventure. The next chapter in the novel of Life is just starting!
The Art of Imagination - Engineering Reality 