Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Psychology of Being Poor

I have decided that there is a psychology to poverty and the same idea apply to living with cancer or recovering from the horrendous voodoo cure.  This concept will be rambling because it is not fit for publication yet, but bear with me.
     Our first "brand new car" didn't last very long.  We were in a car wreck and I've told that story.  We replaced it with a Toyota Station Wagon, a new 1978 Model for $6,235.  It was a great car and never gave us any problems.  With some reluctance, in 2008, yes, almost thirty years! we were ready to replace it.  It was a great car and served us well, hauling the kids to their school stuff and soccor games, hauling hay even, and a series of animals, dogs, cats, chickens.  30 years old but with just under 200,000 miles and she still ran like a champ!
   I decided on a whim to give it to our neighbors, nice people, lots of kids, no job, no money, the proverbial
no pot to piss in.  They were thrilled and spent the day taking turns just driving this car up and down the street.  Now here is the part I never thought of.  Owning a car comes with responsibilities, like putting gas in it and having insurance.  Well, that never happened and the car, my trusted stead, got loaned out to someone and then abandoned in Eastern Oregon, about 200 miles from home!
   Now, here is one more related thought and then I'll try to tie these together.  I sell my "Art Stuff" and a lot of it sells right out of my backyard. I have an apprentise for about six months a year, a good chap who has been with me for a long time.  He has learned a lot from me over the years and I thought he was ready for a huge advancement.  So I tried to explain to him that the more attractive my backyard is and the cleaner and more organized the shop is, the easier it is to work and impress the customers.  It really isn't that bad, two guys for one week and it would be perfect!  My offer to him was in return for his investment of one week's time I would give him 50% of the business.  Now this isn't an offer I would make to anyone, he has been with me for 15 years.  I told him that I am getting ready to slow down a bit and am thinking of other interests.
So, 50% to him this year, 60% next, 70% the third year and after than I wanted 20% for the use of my studio and gardens for his business.  Now, I would have jumped at that.  He can't think beyond a week and thinks I am ripping him off.
    The upshot of all this is I am doing this Spring Spruce Up by myself and am enjoying the process. He is doing I have no idea what.  I am delaying further projects until I have completed these tasks, so basically he is out of work and he is happy with that.  I know there is a psychology to this I just don't understand it.
   How this relates to cancer I am not sure but I have never thought if I wasn't going to get paid that I wouldn't do something, have never thought that if something causes me pain or discomfort that I wouldn't do it.  I have always thought beyond tomorrow, beyond next week, that whatever inconveniences I am in at the moment would pass and better days will be here.  Cancer?  No, it didn't stand a chance with me!
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6 comments:

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  2. Thank you, Pamo, it is rambling but I'll improve on the concept. Part of the problem is I am trying to describe a world beyond my imagination. I once had an employee who stole a CD from one of my customers. He lost a job that paid about $15 dollars an hour for a $5 dollar CD. I could steal something, I know I have it in me but I would want several million times my pay for the heartbreak it would give me.

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  3. Definitely not rambling, I know exactly what you are talking about. As a matter of fact I think people have been trying to describe this very thing for centuries. It's a hard concept to verbalize, but what you are saying comes across quite well and it can effect many areas of life.

    I think your right we are what we choose. We live within the realms of our own creations even if we think we don't. The really sad thing is most people don't realize that, or that they have the power to change it at will. Just need to put forth the effort and create the world we really want. It is a mind set, once we realize this and change our perspective the possibilities are endless.

    I've missed your posts, they really make you think. By the way sounds like your apprentice let a great opportunity slip by him.

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  4. Very thought provoking. I think the idea is to appreciate whatever you have, live through it, and take the best from it - no matter what it is, no matter what your situation - and that sometimes what seems to be the best is not, and what seems to be not so great, is the best!

    It's like the story of the man that is moving into town and asks an old man sitting there: "What is this town like?" The old man asks, "What was the town like where you came from?" The newcomer says, "Oh the people were rude and selfish." The old man replied, "That's what it's like here." Then another traveler came and asked about the town. The old man again asked what the town was like where he came from, and the second newcomer said, "Oh where I came from the people were always so friendly and wonderful!" And the old man replied, "That's what it's like here."

    My apologies if you've heard the story before.

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  5. Thanks, Dan, a story well worth retelling and so true! We always find what we are searching for.

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  6. Jerry, the answer is fairly easy,,, When 'someone' gets 'something' for 'nothing' it isn't worth 'anything' .
    As for your apprentice same thing.. Too easy. !!
    BJ

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