Welcome back!
Are you really listening to what is going on around you? Or does the abundance of “noise” have you tuning out most of what you hear? I know I am guilty myself of only really “hearing” a portion of the information that comes at me every day, and I deliberately screen the news so I don’t have to hear every late-breaking story.
It reminds me of a situation with daughter, Megan, when she was in first grade. Her grades were good, and we weren’t aware of any problems until she participated in a routine hearing screening at school. The results came back recommending a re-screen because of questionable results so we scheduled another screening. That one also showed signs of hearing loss, and they recommended that we take her to a hearing specialist in a larger city for evaluation. We were stunned! We couldn’t understand where this hearing problem had come from - she had never had problems with ear infections, no accidents involving her head or ears. A playmate had tried to stick something in her ear one time when she was 3 years old….could that have caused the damage?
We talked to her teacher about her hearing. Yes, the teacher had noticed that Megan occasionally didn’t seem to hear well, both in the classroom and on the playground. Megan herself said she thought she had trouble hearing “sometimes”. So, we scheduled a thorough exam with the hearing specialist and made the 5 hour trip to the city to find out what was wrong. After extensive testing, the hearing specialist came out and gave us his diagnosis - There was nothing wrong with her hearing! She just had the ability to “tune out” whenever she wanted. Somewhat afraid to accept this diagnosis, we questioned Megan thoroughly about the times that she had problems hearing. It seems that she had been upset by some of her classmates arguing and saying mean things, so she had just stopped “hearing” them.
Tuning out sometimes seems like an attractive option. But as responsible adults, we need to hear and respond to what is going on around us. That means we need to really “listen” not just hear what we expect or want to hear. And then we need to absorb and act on the information we hear.
Technorati Tags: listening, information overload, filter information
Possibly Related Posts:
October 13th, 2008 in
Attitudes |
2 Comments
Things don’t move real fast in our little town. You won’t see cutting edge clothing, haircuts, or automobiles on main street (or anywhere else for that matter). People there might try the “latest thing” but only after it’s been around for awhile. Sometimes that’s a little frustrating.
But, sometimes that can be a good thing. I stopped at the local Post Office to mail some packages last week and while I waited, struck up a conversation with Jim, who was waiting on me.
“What’s the feeling about the bailout and how it will affect the local economy?” I asked, hoping to get into a good debate over what should or should not have been done by the banks.
Jim paused in stamping my packages, gave me a look and replied, “What local economy? Walk down mainstream - we have two businesses and six bars. Not much to affect here.” We laughed at his joke and completed our business, but his comments stuck with me.
Will our town be affected by the financial crisis - absolutely. Will it be as devastating as in other areas of the country? Probably not. There are no large employers in town to lay off large numbers of people. Most businesses (there are actually more than just 2) are Mom and Pop operations or run with just a few employees. The banks are locally owned and operated, not part of a national chain. Business has been slow for years and the town has gradually dwindled in size as many of the town’s young people have chosen the bigger cities and better paying jobs over “staying home”.
So, the local population has already learned how to do without a lot of the “extras” found in the bigger cities. Social life revolves mostly around family and school activities. Prices are lower, life is slower……sometimes that’s a good thing.
Technorati Tags: small town economy, financial crisis, rural spending
Possibly Related Posts:
October 6th, 2008 in
The Economy |
1 Comment
I don’t know when the rules changed, but apparently they have. The no-fault, no-blame, no-responsibility line of thinking has come to a new low with the proposed $700 billion dollar bail out of our banking system.
Common sense would indicate that if you borrow money, you are responsible for paying it back. If you really can’t make the payments, don’t borrow the money in the first place. I’m old-fashioned. I expect my bank to take care of the money I deposit and loan it only to those who are likely to pay it back. And they need to look at what that money is being spent on and decide if the asset is worth the money being put into it.
This financial crisis did not happen overnight. Listen to radio, TV, or check your email and you will see ads for easy credit, as well as encouragements to Buy Now - No Payments til 2009! Borrowing money has become a way of life to many, and younger folks in particular can’t remember a time when you were expected to pay in full when you purchased an item.
The amount of the bailout will put a burden on the U.S. taxpayers - essentially a loan from each of us to a failing institution. I don’t think that is a good investment, and not one that I want to make. If this bailout passes, and I think it will, we have only delayed the eventual crash….and when it comes it will not be something that the government can salvage.
We need to let our free market system work, and keep the government out of it.
Technorati Tags: banking crisis, financial bail out, common sense lending
Possibly Related Posts:
October 1st, 2008 in
The Economy |
No Comments
