THE WORLD IS ON FIRE

Exhale......deep breath.......exhale...Yes, it has been a very long time.  I don't believe in the history of this blog, I have ever gone this long without writing a post.  It has been a very difficult time for me.  This week has been difficult, this month, and this year.  If I were to be honest, the last three years have been difficult.  I don't know how the rest of you are feeling, but I feel like the world is on fire.  The political unrest, the crime, the economy, the job market, the financial market, the environment, the quality of our food, the quality of our jobs, the quality of the goods we buy, and the quality of our lives has all become so poor.  The American dream has been downsized.  For those of you following along in other countries, I know your dreams have been slowly eroded away also.

The world is on fire, and MY world is on fire.

#1 SELF ACTUALIZATION
As many of you already know I have been searching for work after having lost a job in a creative field.  For years prior, I had worked in every industry from civil service to corporate America doing mundane tasks and collecting my living mostly from a long stint in sales.  Having always felt the creative spark of wanting to do work more suited to my passions and creativity, I finally made the very difficult leap from working in a health club to working in photography. About a year after landing what I thought was the job of my dreams, I lost it. I have since struggled financially and have struggled to find comparable work. Not wanting to give up my dream and return back to the work I have grown to despise, I continue to search for the next open door. My self-actualization has been burned.


#2 ESTEEM 
Naturally when you can't make your life work it affects how you feel about yourself.  Not being able to fulfill dreams, not being able to control weight, not being able to find work, completely erodes away confidence and costs you the respect of others.  My self-esteem has been compromised.

#3 LOVE/BELONGING 
I have had a terrible time with family.  My parents have gone a long stretch without speaking to me.  They have a bad habit of withdrawing their love when trouble arises as they are spooked by the fear that they may have to help emotionally or financially.  Lacking the skills involved to nurture, they retreat at times when most parents reach out to their children.  Coming from such a small and volatile family, my love and sense of belonging has been threatened.


#4 SAFETY
I have watched a string of robberies and home invasions break out in the neighborhoods surrounding me.  No one is protecting us as most of the reports were taken over the phone, a patrol car not even sent out to do an investigation.  Law enforcement has done their best to squash news of the incidents leaving many residents unaware, unprepared, and unguarded for the attacks that continue to occur.  I have no means right now to beef up security. My safety feels threatened.

#5 PHYSIOLOGICAL
Naturally, when you are stressed your eating patterns, sleep patterns, sex habits, bathroom habits, all get disturbed.  My physiological world has been disturbed.

For those of you recognizing a pattern here, what I have just described is Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs Theory.  When every sliver of that triangle has been disturbed for a period of say about three years now, you have a person who is both physically and emotionally on the edge!  In other words, MY WORLD IS ON FIRE!!!!

I hope I have a more positive outlook tomorrow.  Trust that I will have more positive things to share with you next time.  I just wanted to offer up some explanation on where I am right now and why my ability to post this past week has suffered.  Here's to hoping better days are ahead for all of us!!

“Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, whine less, breathe more, talk less, say more, hate less, love more, and good things will be yours.” -Swedish Proverb