Sometimes we become involved in other people’s problems, whether we want to be, or not. At times like this, Wisdom, Courage and Compassion are needed, but in a slightly different way than when we have problems of our own. I have needed to have the Wisdom to step back from the problem, and look at it in a dispassionate way.
The Courage to determine my feelings, from that detached viewpoint and the Compassion to offer help if required, knowing that your offer may well be rejected. Just be there, with an open heart and a calm mind. Too often, people on the periphery feel the need to state their opinions, whether that helps the problem or not. These opinions may well be founded on sound principles and deeply held beliefs, but they are not help, they are just opinions.
If you find yourself in such a situation, you must be prepared to wait to be asked for your help. Staying detached, objective and silent, may be all the help you can offer at that time. Time is a great healer, often the only healing medium we have, so be prepared to extend your Wisdom, Courage and Compassion over the long term.
Birthdays are funny things aren’t they? When you are little, they are the best thing next to Christmas, you count down the days and they take ages to arrive.
Illusion about the true nature of existence is literally illusion about the nature of one’s own life. This is the fundamental source of all illusions.
My colleague Michael retired today, after 47 years service to the company. 47 years !!! It is amazing to think that his first day was way back in the 60’s, when I was nearly 10, short trousers and all. He assures me that he never actually met Mr Edward Stanley Gibbons, who started the company in 1856. But in my opinion, it’s a remarkable achievement and is something that will become even rarer as the years go by.
So we removed the new software and the site stabilised somewhat, although it did still go down several times again today. As our support agreement with the developers doesn’t cover us 24-7 the team are taking turns to check the site throughout the night and do the necessary if it falters again.
This is really going to be short. The new software launch, the software we so carefully tested, preened, polished and cossetted, died a spectacular and explosive death today, taking the main site with it as it sank below the waves.
You know the feeling, you’ve had a great weekend, you’re rested, fresh and ready to face the new week, then wham, it all turns into an episode from Tales of the Unexpected. So it was today, the usual mountain of weekend orders to process, the usual banal questions from people who should know better, but we’re on top of it all, plain sailing and not a cloud in sight.
So having failed to make the trip to Ringwood yesterday, purely because I got a bit lost in Broadstone, I was determined to try again today. That old saying about ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again’ is pretty good advice. If you try and fail, and never try again, you will miss out on the elation of success.
I can’t remember the first time I watched the 
At the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, of the eleventh year of this century, Ringwood stopped for a reverential two minutes to remember the dead of two world wars and subsequent conflicts. It was truly moving.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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