Turning In, Typing Up, Tuning Out...

Today ended the original cycle of '29 Days of Giving', something my restaurant owner and manager enacted for themselves and the employees to do. It is based on a concept discussed in a book of the same name. A woman diagnosed with MS received some advice about giving from a neighbor who had recently taken a spiritual journey of sorts to Africa. Overall, the principles are sound. Outward focus is the opposite of inward focus. If what is going on inside is causing you problems, turn your focus outward, either through giving gifts or what have you. Perspective is everything in this life. So, I tried to follow it. At the end of the day, I'd rather live a life where I am always trying to give something of myself to others than to challenge myself to a specific block of days where I have a journal so I can look back on what I did and, I don't know, feel good about myself or something. Still, I could be working for my former boss, who was a middle management sales fellow, constantly paranoid of his superiors' intentions and fearing for his job. The most outward focused thing we were encouraged to do at that job was to call on our territories and try to sell them something. Giving things away was generally frowned upon. I'll take the present scenario, no matter how earthy and mystical it gets, over falling prone before the almighty dollar 5 times a day in a corporate sty.

This has been brought to you under the influence of some jasmine tea and water. I have a race in the morning, after all.