Sale (May 31)

It seems that store are very eager to get you to come inside and spend your money. Society tells you that you need to keep up with your firends and buy the latest and greatest things. And yet it seems that we find ourselves as a society less pleased than ever and in the midst of a recession that is only fuled by commercialism and the desire to have stuff. A sale is an easy way to make a dollar and stores often tell you how much money you are going to save because you bought something on sale. The reality is that a sale is an easy way to steal money from the unsuspecting. See, you will have more money in your pocket if you never buy the item on sale to begin with. There are many interesting tricks of the trade that also factor into the idea of a sale. See a product is made for a certain amount of product and labor. The item is then shipped to a distributor and then to the stores, each step along the way adding a bit of cost. Then the store puts a price on the item, usually around the manufacturers suggested retail price. This price is often inflated well above the total cost of the item. This way people will buy things where the store can make money as well. Then when things are not moving off the shelves the store can have a sale and that sale price is still above what the store actually paid to put the item ont he shelf. It makes no sense for a store to sell something below the price that they paid for it and they won't unless they do a large enough volume to have already recouped what they paid in the first place. The sale as you can see is all a trick based on the price that was paid by the store for the product.

Pay (May 30)

When one does a particular job they usually expect that they are going to get paid for their work. Sometimes that pay is good and much appreciated and sometimes it is that money that becomes dangerous. See the world we live in today does not value what they are paid and we have created several laws which theoretically make pay something fair. While these laws are not in and of themselves a bad thing it seems that they have put more moeny in the hands of people who honestly do not know how to use their money wisely. Since one's credit and ability to buy big things on credit is a result of how much they make, the reality is that people who are getting paid more than they potentially should are being told that they can afford things that in reality they cannot afford at all. One of the more interesting laws goes on to say that different people should be paid the same for equal work. The reality of what pay is, however, is that is it something to be agreed upon by employer and employee on an individual basis. I am reminded of a story where an employer needed help and hired a first group of people at an agreed upon pay. Later, realizing that he needed more people to complete the task on time, he hired more people and agreed with the second group of people to pay them the exact same amount of money that he agreed to with the first group. Still later there was a third group of people that he brought in and agreed to pay them the same amount of money for their work. At the end of the day when all the employees were paid and dismissed everyone, despite the differing amounts of time that they had worked were paid the money that they agreed to work for, the exact same amount for everyone in all three groups. Those in the first group complained and yet they had no arguement since they were paid what they originally agreed to. Be glad that you are paid for the word that you do and be sure to spend that money wisely.

Woods (May 29)

All the wood that we use to build things comes from trees that were once part of a forest. For those that spend time in the forest you will know that you have been back in the woods. Wood itself is a very interesting thing. It takes years and years to grow to a nice enough size to be cut down to use for something else. However, the wood itself, before it is cut down is something of a majestic nature. It is alive and grows. Very few places that can be considered woods are made up of thousands of trees that all coexist in harmony with one another. They become so think in spots that it might seem like one must be impeding on the other and yet it is not the case. They stand there, all nice and tall with their branches spread out as if to say look at me. Then, in the back woods, when the wind comes it is almost as if the trees begin to talk. They whisper things in your ear that you never thought you could hear and yet there it is. It isn't like they are saying go away or this is my space. It is something much greater than that, something of a welcoming nature that also says thank you for protecting me. When the woods are cut down the trees stop talking and something becomes amiss. The wise will take what they need and leave the rest, planting more to grow in place of what they have taken. Then the woods will talk forever.

Movies (May 28)

One of the greatest forms of art, and certainly the most appreciated form of art, in todays culture is that of movies. Sure you haven't really thought about movies as art before but when you think about how a movie is made on film in much the same way that a photographer takes a picture it is really hard to deny movies as art. While they are similar to something such as the theater only with a lack of live actors performing their artful skill, the movie is greater for many reasons. See the world in which we live has made the movies a cultural phenomenon whereby we will gladly spend $7 to $15 to see the latest movie on a regular basis. Movies have become much like television where you are not a part of the conversation unless you have seen the latest movie. Movies have also taken the idea of escapism to an extreme unmatched by any other art form or other form of entertainment. We have swaped out reading for the movies when it comes to taking ourselves to far off worlds and situations far beyond what we deal with in everyday life. We look at movies to tell us how to act and how to discover who we are and who we want to become. We use movies to pass the time and dream of what could be, either right now in our own lives or in the much distant time from now, past or present. No other art form has sought to maximize technology to create something truly unique where the experience if truly something that has never been done before yet feels so familiar. The power that movies have is also a very dangerous edge on which we will always walk as long as the population in which we live continues to go to the movies.

Noise (May 27)

It really doesn't take much to make a noise. And it is nearly impossible to find yourself in a place without any noise. Some of us like to live in a world that is full of noise and others love to simply be in a place where the noise is as minimal as possible. Unless we are talking to another person there are really very few instances when we pay much attention to the noise that is out there. Sure, if you are really into music you could simply sit and attempt to enjoy the music that you are listening too. Concerts seem like they might be a good place where one is observing the noise that they hear but it seems that the experience itself is about more than just the noise and typically, since the songs are not usually new we allow ourselves to fall back into habit, so to speak, without really appreciating the music that we are listening to. See noise is one of the things that are always there but one of the things that we typically do not spend a great deal of time attempting to honestly appreciate. We are so used to what we hear on a daily basis that it is only when things are different that one might even notice the fact that there is noise. Noise is really a simple pleasure in life but one that can also become something unpleasent as there are certain sounds that we do not enjoy.

Games (May 26)

There are various forms of games to be found in this world from the super simple children's board games to the highly active games that we call sports. There is something about games in general that we really enjoy. There is usually some emotional connection and a way to release energy or focus our minds on something. Games give us something to strive for as we seek to accomplish a task either on our own or as part of a team. Some games are all about the strategy and some are all about playing by the rules and yet others are all about ones athletic ability. While the games mentioned previously in this blog post are all about the fun, it seems that we like games so much that we have taken that idea of a game and transitioned it into just about every other area of our lives. Shopping for instance is no longer shopping when it becomes a game to either have the latest and greatest thing or when it becomes about finding the best deal possible. Then we have taken games and even applied them to the process to find that special someone in our lives. Your friends tell you to act a certain way so as to cause someone else to want you more or so that you yourself do not sound so desperate. When games flow out of the bounds of the games themselves and into other areas of our lives it becomes a very dangerous thing that needs to be closely watched. The attitude of games causes one to spend more money than they have so as to impress that other person who seems to be able to buy anything and everything. In relationships it causes hurt feelings and a lack of trust. Keep games fun and in the realm they are supposed to be in and the rest of life will be so much more what it is supposed to be.

Realization (May 25)

When one talks about a given situation there are a few things that tend to happen, much like one would expect from seeing a counselor. At some point in the conversation, the person talking about the situation will come to some kind of realization that they have not really figured out before. That, or all the evidence that one should come to a realization and the lack of that realization coming to fruition. It may be obvious to the person who is listening to the person describing their situation but it may not be obvious to the person speaking. One has to work hard to train their mind to see things, to fish for patterns in all the chatter. It helps if one has good processing skills and proper thinking capabilities. That will help the realization. The one listening may come to some realization, but it is really not their realization to be had. They could give advice, but that will not help the other party come to a realization. They could ask questions in order to help the other person process in an attempt to lead them to the realization. This second option does more good than simple advice. So, you may have someone you go to who can give you wise counsel, but can this persaon ask you the right questions when you need a realization?