Well if you’re looking for a speaker on careers, creativity, or geekery (or preferably all three) I’m back at it, folks!
With my presentation on Quest For Employment at PMI Silicon Valley, I’m officially returning to doing speaking beyond conventions. I had to take a break with all the crazy, and to get some new material together. So remember if you need a speaker – in person or online via Skype, etc., let me know!
I’d like to write about last week in a way relevant to the blog. I’d like to discuss social media and what it means. I’d like to discuss something relevant to careers from how we viewed the various horrible happenings through the lens of technology.
Honestly, I can’t bring myself to do it. Last week was awful.
I’m sure in the days and weeks to come I and the others here will analyze the technical and cultural side of what went on. But as for me, right now, no.
I’d like us to take a moment here to be thankful instead for all those who worked to save lives, comfort the grieving, aid the injured, and bury the dead. To every EMT, every policeman, every doctor, everyone who just helped, let us be grateful. There’s something stunning and amazing, a light kindled in the darkness, when you see what these people have done.
I’d like us to take a moment here to be thankful for the way people used the technology to help each other. As much as people discuss what went wrong thanks to our social media age, there was much that went right. There were news feeds and warnings, charity drives and advice, web pages and alerts. We have much to learn about the tools at our disposal, but we have much we did right.
I’d like us to take a moment here to be thankful we’re still alive.
I’m thankful for the blog.
I’m thankful for the staff.
I’m thankful for you the reader.
I’ll probably discuss what we can learn from last week. But today is not that day.
Theres a concept in Tibetan Buddhism (and I think used in other Buddhist traditions) called the Wheel Of Life. It’s a great mandala, showing the cycles of the world, clutched in the hands of Yama, lord of death. It’s a vast, symbolic work that you could spend ages analyzing as it represents the sources of suffering, the nature of living beings, and the liberation off the wheel.
Most notable – and famous – are the various realms of existence portrayed on the wheel. The lore states that there are six realms one can be born in:
Devas – The gods. Beings who enjoy bliss and pleasure and power. However, Devas do age and die, and their happiness often means they don’t develop wisdom or compassion.
Asuras – The Angry Gods, sometimes translated as “Titans”. They conted with the Devas. Powerful, fierce, and forceful they’re also jealous and paranoid.
Humans – That’s us. We’re usually ignorant, but also are in a balanced world and state where we can learn wisdom, compassion, and get off the Wheel via enlightenment. We’ve got anger and bliss and so forth, but it’s not overwhelming or crippling.
Animals – The realm of creatures of instinct. Animals tend to prefer sameness, indulge desire, and often lack humor.
Hungry Ghosts – The realm of addiction. Hungry Ghosts are mournful spirits haunting various desolate parts of the world, seeking to consume things they desire and unable to enjoy them. Scary-looking, they’re rather pathetic creatures.
Hell Beings – The realm of fear and anger. Hell beings are born to torment in this horrible realm.
Metaphysically it’s an interesting cosmology, but it can also be viewed as metaphorical – that these are different psychological states we can experience. I’ve seen the psychological model talked about by a number of people, such as Mark Epstein and Pema Chodron; it’s really fascinating.
