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July 2003, TRUE LIVELIHOOD
NEWSLETTER
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Issues - ARCHIVES) (To
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This newsletter is intended to support the work of people who
are engaged in developing the careers, vocations, livelihoods,
jobs and/or work of other individuals. It is our belief that
everyone's work life can and should be molded and crafted to be
the expression of our finest gifts and a source of great joy.
Towards this end, we hope that the content of these newsletters
will support you with both practical tools and inspirational
ideas.
Hello. Welcome to our July 2003 edition! Please pass it on to
interested friends and colleagues.
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I am on an airplane flying over the Rocky Mountains. I boarded
this flight a little over an hour ago and quickly fell into what I
call “the airplane trance” – that state in which thoughts scatter
across the mind like the bits and pieces of clouds strewn across
the sky. My mind has indeed kept itself busy in this hour! Let’s
see - I brooded over how an airline could call a mini-carton of
yogurt and bag of raisins a meal, went item by item through last
night’s packing wondering if I remembered to pack my cell phone
battery, worried about the size, room temperature and quality of
the sound system of the room I am training in tomorrow, and
rehashed a difficult conversation I had with a friend yesterday
regretting all of the brilliant things I could’ve, would’ve, and
should’ve said. Lest I allow even the tiniest pocket in my thought
process to remain vacant, I used the remaining spaces to conjure
up new and devastating pictures of the dire circumstances my
teenage daughter migh t encounter on the road now that she has
obtained a driver’s license. Oh dear, I still have four hours
remaining on this flight!
What motivated me to take inventory of the content of my
thoughts for the past hour was my response to the first productive
idea I have had since I boarded this plane – to work on this
month’s issue of the newsletter, the theme of which is Cultivating
the Gift of Focused Attention! The Merriam –Webster Dictionary
defines attention as “the focusing of the mind on something”.
Synonyms include concentration, consideration, consciousness,
observation, mindfulness, sensibility and awareness. Antonyms
include neglect, aloofness, detachment, withdrawal, indifference
and unawareness. When we consciously focus our attention, the mind
is a tool employed for our chosen purposes. When we fail to focus
our attention, we allow the mind to take us on its own scattered
and pointless journey, usually headed down the well worn paths of
either worry or regret which only serve to deplete our energy.
While focused attention is one of the greatest gifts we have to
give one another, to ourselves, to our work, and to our world, we
dispense of it with little care in our everyday affairs. The
airplane trance I entered early on in this flight is not unlike
the-sitting-in-traffic-trance,
the-standing-in-the-grocery-line-spell, or the daily daydreams
invoked while at meetings, during appointments or in the midst of
daily business. If you think about it, other people’s
interruptions of our work are relatively insignificant compared
with the countless times we interrupt ourselves by letting our
thoughts drift mindlessly or allowing ourselves to get caught up
in conversations not deserving of our attention.
Everything benefits from our full attention. We know that
people (including ourselves), animals, plants, and all living
things thrive when given our real attention. To bestow this care
in our daily activities, whether it is cooking, teaching,
coaching, gardening or being with another person, is the only sure
means toward the richness of a true quality of relationship or
engagement. It is a means of concentrating our energy on the tasks
at hand, of caring about what we leave in our wake, and perhaps
the principal means toward the growth and evolution of ourselves
as well as our creative efforts. It is a way of showing up in our
lives - a way of being where we are when we are there and doing
what we are doing as we are doing it, what in the Buddhist
tradition is referred to as “mindfulness”. The marvelous thing
about focused attention is that it is something we can achieve at
any time and in any place - every second that we’re awake, we can
wake up more fully. Cultivating this gift more mindfully could
transform the quality of a workday, of a relationship, indeed, of
our lives. It is commonplace and extraordinary at the very same
time.
Attention is the vessel in which we pour our moment to moment
consciousness and intentionality and the physical manifestation of
what we value, honor and hold important or sacred. We can
communicate to our customers or clients that they matter a lot to
us, but if we make no time to see them or refuse to take their
calls, they do not feel cared about. Only by gifting them real
attention will they come to know that they matter. The same is
true with our children, our friends, our long distance family and
our loved ones at home. Attention is the power with which we
choose what will become the center of our lives. As such, it would
behoove us to continually assess what we have put on the primary
stage of our lives by examining where we focus our time and
attention.
Looking at our weekly planners and our daily schedules – these
meeting, errands, and responsibilities – this is where we are
dedicating our precious days, hours and moments. Are these the
people and places we would intentionally choose to offer our love
and devotion? What do we choose to talk about with people on the
phone? What is the substance of the e-mails that we choose to
respond to? Are the challenges and issues that have our attention,
both at home and at work, worthy of our precious time and energy?
How do we remain cognizant of the fact that what we give our time
and attention to, day after day, is the shape our lives eventually
take?
Each day is an opportunity to choose where to place our care.
To choose deliberately the quality of our interactions and efforts
at work is to become artisans at work – to react half-heartedly
and with little consciousness to the activities from nine to five
is to be little more than a slave to the workday. The kind of
relationship to work that is manifested in drifting attention,
clock-watching, and wishing to be elsewhere robs us of energy and
joy. When we find ourselves bored, frustrated, constrained or
dulled by what we do all day we can know one thing for certain –
we are simply not paying attention. Mindfulness puts in a constant
present, releasing us from the clatter of distracting thoughts so
that our energy, creativity and productivity are undiluted.
Attention is power, and those who work in a state of mindfulness
bring an almost supernatural power to what they do.
Life has many ways to awaken us and get our attention,
sometimes employing some pretty blaring methods which do not allow
us to hit the snooze button every ten minutes until we are ready
to rise from our slumber. Conflicts in a relationship, money
problems, illness, the loss of a loved one, deep discontent on the
job – we can wait for life to wake us up or we can simply wake up
on our own. Responses to the question I posed in last month’s
newsletter and have included below reflect just what a direct and
powerful teacher life can be in the ‘waking up” business.
Personally, I would prefer to live a life with an ongoing and
enduring appreciation for the power and privilege of being able to
focus my attention rather than live as a passenger on board the
aimless wandering of my thoughts. While I know that is not an easy
ambition, I know with equal conviction that it is a worthy one.
In closing, I borrow the astounding words of Henry David
Thoreau:
“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by an
alarm clock, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn. It is
something to be able to paint a particular picture or to carve a
statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful. But it is far more
glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through
which we look…to affect the quality of the day, that is the
highest of the arts.”
Wishing you wakefulness all the days of your life,
Denise Bissonnette
P.S. (The flight attendant has just announced that we are
making our descent into Toronto. I am so glad that I chose to
spend this time with you rather than remain in my airplane trance.
Though I cannot see your faces, you remain a powerful and
treasured presence in my life. Thank you.)
© Denise Bissonnette, July 2003
About Denise...
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- Consider how everything that is present in your life right
now – your work, your relationships, your possessions, your joy or
discontent – results from where you have placed or failed to place
your attention in the past. With the realization that the overall
quality of your life is to some degree a reflection of your
ability and inability to focus your awareness, where do you choose
to focus your attention at this time of your life?
- Choose a time before the work day begins to just be quiet and
pay attention to your breathing. Use this as a time to awaken not
just physically but to rouse your senses and engage your
awareness.
- Employ your travel time to work to consider the purposes you
would like to bring to the day – with all of its distractions and
chaos, use the purpose you choose as a place within yourself to
gather your resources and refresh your energy.
- Select an everyday cue in your environment as a re-minder to
“stay awake ” and be fully present not just with your body but
with your full self … the ringing of the telephone, the sound of a
passing bus or train, perhaps the signing in on your computer you
can sign in on a deeper level into your own consciousness.
- Assist your clientele to keep their spirits up by giving them
assignments which help them to focus their attention in ways that
are productive and positive.
- Think about the people in your personal and professional life
who you care about but who have not been the recipients of your
full attention for some time. Make an opportunity to give them
that precious gift.
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Edited by Claude Whitmeyer; Parallel Press, Berkeley
California, 1994.
Mindfulness and Meaningful work is a wonderful collection of
essays and articles on the integration of mindfulness and ethics
in the workplace. Written by thirty-two of the leading thinkers
and doers of our time including Thich Nhat Hanh, Joanna Macy, Sam
Keen, E.F. Schumacher, Gary Synder and Marsha Sinetar, what binds
these essays together is the common belief that work can and
should be a vessel into which we pour not only our sweat and
blood, but our highest purposes and focused attention. As Claude
Whitmeyer asserts in the introduction, “The real purpose of work
is to give us an opportunity to practice being human – to discover
everything we are and all that we can be, both as individuals and
as members of a community.” These essays are extremely
thought-provoking and practical – deepening the understanding of
the Buddhist concept of “Right Livelihood” while offering simple
ideas for practicing mindfulness in our everyday lives.
This isn’t the kind of book you read in one sitting. At times a
bit academic and at other times quite pragmatic, I read one essay
at a time, journaling after each reading. I found this book as
rewarding personally as I did professionally knowing that my
ability to model the tenets of “right livelihood” in my own life
speaks more powerfully than anything I will ever put on paper or
say through a microphone in front of a crowd. Written almost a
decade ago, I continue to return to this book for insight and
perspective and a gentle reminder that this vocation in which I
work, play, and make my living is indeed a sacred one.
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Here are a few edited responses to the question I posed in last
month’s newsletter: “What has served as a “wake-up call” in your
life that made you sit up and pay attention to goals, priorities
or values that up until that point you had become complacent or
non-attentive?”
Dear Denise
I am a Career Counselor working in a One Stop. Many of the
folks I work with have significant barriers to overcome. Some of
them are aware of the barriers, others are still in denial. For
me, the thing that served as a wake-up call was getting sober. I
received a BA in 1978 but never put my education into practice.
For 11 years after college, I convinced myself that working as a
waitress was "enough." During those years it was more important to
drink than to work toward something better. One day I woke up to
the fact that I was worth more than "waiting tables" as well as my
unhappiness of being in a horrible marriage. It was time for a
change! The short story is, in this order: paid to have a nice
resume designed, looked for an entry-level office job that started
out very part-time. I was then offered enough hours to support
myself, left my husband, and got sober. The whole process was hard
and there was a lot of grief involved but in the end I started to
become the woman that I had always imagined myself to be. Today
(after 11 years), I work in a position that I was born to do, am
remarried to a nurturing supportive life-mate, and am getting my
Master's in Career Counseling.
Denise, thank you for helping me to remember the journey I have
taken to get here today. My life experiences helps me to relate to
what many are going through but also keeps me from "doing it for
them" when they want to give up. We all have the capacity to
succeed we just need to wake up and believe it. It's not easy but
it is doable.
- Cinthia, A California One Stop
Dear Denise,
"Wake-up calls” for me have been a number of things: my best
girlfriend dealing with cancer, not once but twice-seeing her
bravery and courage and renewed sense of what is important and
what is not; 9/11 reminded me to hug and kiss my loved ones more
often and not sweat the "small stuff"; my aged parents, treasuring
the time I have with them. It is unfortunately the painful,
hurtful, and tragic events that happen personally and worldwide
that seem to give me a "wake-up" call to reevaluate what is
"really" important to me. Basically if we look around us
worldwide, all peoples want is to have food, shelter, clean water,
and work and to raise our families. We need to understand that
different cultures have different politics, but we all have common
basic needs and goals. These are our common bond as humans.
- Janice Booth, Employment Advisor, WorkLink Employment Society
Dear Denise,
A lot of us at mid-life are dealing with loss: loss of family
and friends, sometimes loss of livelihood and health, and changes
in our significant relationships. One of the conclusions I have
come to as a result of this process is that these transitions
strip away the notions of self we have constructed around us
during the first half of our lives (and crack open our hearts).
This is an opportunity to recreate ourselves and realign ourselves
with deeper values and get closer to our true spiritual nature.
Thank you for your work.
- Cory, North Island Employment Foundations Society, Campbell
River, BC
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A common and recurring issue for employment professionals is
how to assist individuals to believe in themselves and the power
of their gifts. As such, the theme for next month’s newsletter is
“Recognizing and Uncovering Our Gifts”. The question I invite
reader to respond to is:
“What is one of your favorite questions or ideas for helping
people uncover and recognize their innate talents, abilities and
gifts?”
(In case we include your response in next month’s newsletter,
please indicate if you would prefer to remain anonymous.)
Email your thoughts on "Recognizing and Uncovering Our Gifts"
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What would you like to see more of?
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What theme or question would you like me to respond to in
future issues?
Respond to Reader Survey...
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JULY - San Diego, California
AUGUST - Kenora, Ontario
SEPTEMBER - Scranton, Pennsylvania * Timmins, Ontario * Spring
Valley, California
OCTOBER - Killington, Vermont * Winnipeg, Manitoba * Kenora,
Ontario * Indiana
Click Here for details and complete Schedule of Appearances...
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Please visit our store and browse through our selection of
books and resources for job developers, career counselors and
others with similar responsibilities.
Some of Denise's most popular books are on sale until July 15,
2003!
Go to Diversity Shop...
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Only for Subscribers to this Newsletter... get $4.00 off the
regular PACKAGE price of Denise's book "The Wholehearted Journey"
and the accompanying CD "A Pilgrim's Plea - Poems for the
Journey". To receive your discount, just click on the coupon or
the link below, add the item to your cart, enter Coupon Code: "MYDEAL"
and Refresh your cart. (Your discount will appear.) Coupon Valid
only until July 11, 2003.
Go to The Wholehearted Journey...
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Diversity World has developed a program that allows Associate
organizations/businesses to refer customers to our store, via
links from their websites/emails, in return for commissions on
actual purchases that result. If you your company/organization is
interested in becoming a DiversityShop Associate, please contact
us.
Details on Associate Program...
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Previous editions of the "True Livelihood Newsletter" are
archived on our website.
Click here to see archived editions...
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