Operating Under the Influence

DUI, as in “Driving Under the Influence” of mind-altering substances, is illegal. 

But OUI – “Operating Under the Influence” – of myriad factors in our ever-expanding universe – is standard practice, some of it legal and some of it not, some of it enlifening, some inspiring, some highly questionable, and some simply stupid.  

Things that influence us to varying degrees – for better or worse – include, but are not limited to:

·         Parents/Family

·         Friends

·         Marketing/Advertising/Packaging

·         Teachers

·         Things we read

·         Things we encounter on the internet

·         Things we see on television

·         Things we invent in our own minds

·         Bosses/Supervisors

·         Co-Workers

·         Casual associates

·         Intrinsic Driving Forces (Appetites, Virtues, Vices)

·         Cultivated Driving Forces (Dreams, Ideals)

CRITICAL NOTE

The degree to which we permit these elements to influence us –

and the direction in which they move us –

is largely our choice.

Here’s a visioning exercise to contemplate.

Imagine you’re traveling in space.  Each celestial body you encounter has a gravitational force of some magnitude.  Some celestial bodies also have repulsive forces.  You can either be “drawn in” to close encounter or be driven away.  The drawing-in or driving-away vectoring is more a function of your own internal inclination than it is of the external forces.   You submit or you do not submit.   

A well-charted destination and well-executed journey maximizes the beneficial influences and minimizes the detrimental.   

Point to Ponder

[From Wikipedia]

“In orbital mechanics and aerospace engineering, a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist maneuver, or swing-by is the use of the relative movement (e.g. orbit around the sun) and gravity of a planet or other astronomical object to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft, typically in order to save propellant, time, and expense. Gravity assistance can be used to accelerate a spacecraft, that is, to increase or decrease its speed and/or redirect its path.

The "assist" is provided by the motion of the gravitating body as it pulls on the spacecraft. The technique was first proposed as a mid-course manoeuvre in 1961, and used by interplanetary probes from Mariner 10 onwards, including the two Voyager probes' notable fly-bys of Jupiter and Saturn.”

NOTE:  We are not, in fact, going to make it the full distance to our celestial or non-celestial Destiny (never mind “making it” outside the putrefying puddle of our soft and fuzzy comfort zone) without making ourselves “helpable” – and “slingshotable” – a prime target for garnering the substantial influence of significant others. 

Other Points to Ponder

On Gravity

The gravitational “pull” of all that would hold you down and back becomes exponentially diminished at higher altitudes.

The more “gravitational substance” you have invested in your Dream, the closer and more powerfully it will be drawn to you.

BOTTOM LINE: Get some gravity (solid core capacity), invest liberally in the substance of your Dream, gain as much altitude as you can, and do some targeted vectoring that will maximize encounters with significant “influences” through which you can operate most effectively … operate most sustainably … and reap the best possible outcomes.  Make OUI work for you, not against you.  Quartermaster

Fighting Chance

In the book Top Dog, Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman summarize a plethora of studies demonstrating the importance of having a reasonable, “fighting chance” of winning in order to function at peak performance levels.  Being in the “right league” – with well-matched cohorts and legitimately achievable goals – and having a support team cheering you on help immensely – and measurably.* 

A “fighting chance” is all one can ask in any circumstance:

Joshua was only 3 months old and failing to thrive when he and his brother were removed from untenable living conditions and transferred to foster care.   Within two weeks, he developed labored breathing to a point that the foster parents had to take him to the emergency room.  Despite the best care a tertiary medical center could offer, Joshua’s condition worsened and they had to put him in the pediatric ICU – basically in an “iron lung” with high pressure oxygen and tubes everywhere for feeding, medication, testing and monitoring purposes.  During this process, Joshua’s “real” parents were notified of the crisis and visited the ICU but had to be removed after a few minutes.  Both were heavy smokers and Joshua’s condition had notably worsened in their presence.  As hours wore into days, Joshua’s condition waxed and waned without rhyme or reason.  Speculative diagnoses could not be confirmed by definitive testing.  Yet here was a fighter, fighting with every ounce of energy he could muster.  Of course, he had no choice.  Or did he?  In fact, under heavy medication he could simply have “laid down arms” and placed himself at the mercy of the docs and nurses.  But it was not in him not to take as much charge of his own welfare as was IN him.  All the parents and foster parents could do was hope and pray he could have a “fighting chance”. 

What would YOU do with a “fighting chance”? 

How much of a “fighter” are you?  What is “IN” you?  What is NOT “in” you?  In whose “charge” are you placing your own welfare?  And how sustainable is that?

Sometimes folks don’t awaken from a stupefying cloud of unfounded assumptions, unrealistic expectations, contrived entitlements and gross misrepresentations until faced with dire circumstances.  Adlai Stevenson observed:  

 

“Man is a curious creature: He can’t read the handwriting on the wall until his back is up against it.” 

Then we try to bargain with the Almighty, pledging to straighten up and fly right just as soon as the dire circumstances disappear. 

What if we just went ahead and straightened up and flew right from the beginning – on our own account – for our own welfare – well before our backs are up against a wall?  Isn’t that what we’re expected to do?  Only what we are CAPABLE of doing – nothing more, but every bit of what we’re capable of doing.  What if we gave ourselves a decent “fighting chance” to become all that we could be? 

“There is only so much you can do, but you have to do that much.”

Garrison Keillor, Prairie Home Companion

The really toughest part about life – especially when we’re not in crisis – is deciding where to draw the line between knocking ourselves out – including sacrificing a lot of indulgences – and merely muddling through … taking whatever Fate throws at us.  The spoils of victory go to those who “knock themselves out” with every “fighting chance” they’ve got.  The rest of us have to live with our sorry selves and our sorry circumstances for the duration.  

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

*Unfortunately, some would-be competitors crumble at the first inkling of competition, even with a level-playing-field and substantial support.  However, the really topmost performers are different.  They seem to be able to respond to the most stringent circumstances in the biggest leagues, facing the biggest challenges with a consistent, all-out effort without goading or gilding.  Some in this group are ingrained with the idea that failure is not an option.  A fragment of this cohort considers each challenge a life-or-death matter; they cease to exist – at least in the manner to which they already have or would like to become accustomed – if they don’t “make it”. 

Life-or-death circumstances – whether real or contrived – are extremely effective at drawing out peak performance – extracting the last full measure of whatever is “in” us.  Making it through with all that’s in you is a life and death matter.  Live as if you really meant to.  And, wherever Destiny beckons, die trying!  Quartermaster

If I Only Had a Brain

Remember the scarecrow in the “Wizard of Oz”?  Here’s his theme song:  

"If I Only Had A Brain"

“I could wile away the hours
Conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain
And my head I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain

I'd unravel every riddle
For any individ'le
In trouble or in pain

With the thoughts I'd be thinkin'
I could be another Lincoln
If I only had a brain …”

Robbie Williams

[Hear it sung by Four Voices]

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrnEh79Pr-Y)

So here’s the question:

What would YOU do … if you only had a brain?

Points to Ponder

“The entire human DNA code is contained in 46 chromosomes - 2 less than the common potato ... which explains why potatoes are smarter than some people I've met.”

(Tripped over on the internet)

 “I possess a device in my pocket that is capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man.  I use it to look at pictures of cats and get into arguments with strangers.”    

Reflection from Reader’s Digest’s Life in These United States, May 2014, p. 16,

from reddit.com.

“Light travels faster than sound. 

That’s why some people appear to be bright until they speak.”

(Author Unknown)

 “I don't mind that you think slowly

but I do mind that you are publishing faster than you think.”

Wolfgang Pauli

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Perhaps more to the point is the fact that, with even half a brain – never mind how slowly we may think, we can do some amazing things.  We can …  

… wile away the hours conferrin’ with the flowers

… consult with the rain

… hatch a new thought or two

… unravel every riddle

… be another Lincoln

… ______________ (you fill in the blank)   

To the great frustration of some, brains don’t have “OFF” buttons.  They’re always “ON”, even when we sleep.  But brains have a tendency to “busy” themselves with trivia … with diversions … with daydreaming … with wishing … with the “easy” … with immediate gratification … with pictures rather than words … with “Beating the System” … with unfounded fears and angst … with unrealistic expectations … with erroneous assumptions … with anything and everything EXCEPT useful engagement.  

In this respect, allowing the brain to go off on its own is no better – or maybe even worse – than not having one … it can get you into a whole lot of trouble!   

Conversely, overload the brain and it will go off-track … it can only take so much at one time.  That’s the great thing about TIME … time protects the brain by keeping everything from happening at once … if we will only do the things we CAN do at once to keep them from piling up.   

So what’s going on in your brain and what grand and glorious things will YOU do with the power vested therein?    

Here’s a Suggestion:

Clear the mental slate for a few moments and become like a scarecrow without hang-ups about what you can and can’t do, try some “blue sky visioning”, project yourself into a new and higher dimension of engagement and functionality, and then give your brain explicit instructions to get with the program!  Quartermaster

“Oh, the places you’ll go …  (Dr. Seuss)

 

Power UP

 “ … do not pray for easy lives but rather pray to become strong men and women.

Do not pray for a task equal to your power,

but rather pray for power equal to your task.

…

you will constantly be amazed at what you can do and become …” 

Phillips Brooks

According to Webster: Power is the “Ability to act; capacity for action …; capability of producing … an effect; the possession of sway or controlling influence over others; a person with authority or influence or exercising control.” 

More simply put, power sets things up and gets things done.

Although power can, and often is, used unwisely and sometimes nefariously, power is not, itself, an evil trait.  Nonetheless, the cynic could paint everything with a dark brush with some justification:

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Lord Acton

But, without the capacity to navigate or negotiate, we are vulnerable and impotent to effect our own wellbeing, never mind whatever our truest Destiny might be or that of the world at large. 

What are the elements that comprise POWER?   And how does one acquire this important attribute – not counting the protected entitlements with which we may presume to be endowed by virtue of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution?   

While the Almighty may be counted on by some to preferentially look after those whose “hairs on their heads are numbered”, it’s been suggested more compellingly that “God helps those who help themselves.”  

Stated a little more pointedly for those in the Christian community:

“God loves you just the way you are,

but He wants (expects!) you to be more like Jesus.”

Source Unknown 

Perhaps first and foremost in considering the acquisition of power, we should note the assertion that “Knowledge is Power.”  It follows that not knowing is a pronounced deficit or weakness.  Moreover, not knowing what we don’t know or that we don’t know – and/or not caring that we don’t know – constitutes a fatal flaw.  So we must know to be … and know more to be more – and know more and be more to deserve more.  

It’s important to note that there are at least 50 shades of gray associated with power and some of them can be deceiving.  In the early 1970s, multiple books and courses were offered on “Black Belt Management” – espousing power-commandeering techniques that were fundamentally geared to tyrannizing intimidation, particularly for self-promotion and negotiation.  However, the exercise of such power tends to isolate rather than consolidate and is no longer the front-running management style.   

In diametric contrast, the power of non-threatening innocence can be enormous: visualize the magnetic impact of an infant learning to walk or of a service dog on duty or of a homeless person in dire need or of a family member in mourning.   

But the most street-wise attribute of power is the unique capacity to fill a marketable need.  There is no substitute for being a “Go To” person who can deliver the highest quality goods.  The term “indispensible” comes to mind.  That’s both “knowing” and “doing”, and carries with it an implied capacity not only to do but to “teach” (consult).  Being the “expert” is where power resides.  It includes knowledge, skills/tools, professional engagement, cutting-edge craftsmanship, and excellence in execution.  Add to that creativity and change-agent visioning capacity, plus articulate communication and negotiation skills, and you have a winning Power-UP package.   

Now take YOUR power the next level UP.  Explore, Learn, Know, DO and BE!  That’s where real engagement is and where real power resides.  Your Destiny awaits!  Quartermaster