Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Nightmare on Wall Street

I'm not one of those financial wizards that watch the ticker tape go by on CNN to see how my stocks are doing. I'm a writer for crying out loud. I stick to what I know and what I'm good at, and that's trying to offer hope and entertainment in the darkest of days.

I'm interested in the markets for a few reasons, though, and when they show the grim numbers and it makes the news as the top story, over the election and the 2 wars we are in, it gets my attention. I work at a plastics factory to pay the bills. Plastics is affected by the oil prices. QH is in the housing construction field and this winter is looking kind of bleak for new construction. I won't rehash the news from today, we all know what it is, but I want to offer a bit of hope.

If this is truly the bottom, we need to celebrate.

Yes, you read that correctly, CELEBRATE!!

This year has involved me learning the Law of Attraction (I can hear QH groaning right now, please bear with me, honey). What you think about, you attract, whether you want it or not. Why? You put all of your energy behind it and when you think it's the end of the world, what happens? The floor falls out beneath you. So, logically, if this is the bottom, then we may bounce for a little bit up and down, but we will eventually climb out of this and rebound.

"What goes up, must come down," as Newton found out with the apple. We have been heading down, with all of the "experts" predicting the worst was yet to come. Today was that day. It's all up from here.

How can I be so "positive" when the rest of the world is going to hell? It's what keeps me going. I am, have always been, and will always be an OPTIMIST.

The glass is half full and there's plenty more where that came from. We have all been led to believe that there is limitation and lack and limits to everything. But what we have NOT been told is this condition of "not having" is TEMPORARY.

Wait a bit, be patient, ask for what you need or want and then take ACTION. If you are sitting on your couch watching Oprah thinking the Universe, or God is going to just deliver your desires to your lap, well, you may lose the house, the couch and the television set and then proclaim the Law of Attraction is a bunch of crap.

Action is the way. My beloved QH has a saying, "Let's just go DO SOMETHING, even if it's wrong!" Any kind of action is going to take you in the direction of what you want and your goals. Even if you are going in the opposite direction, you will learn something (like maybe you should turn around?) and who knows who you might meet along the way?

A lot of people are going to lose a lot because of this market shift. There are those in Texas and Louisiana who have lost that and more, and are just trying to make it from day to day. I feel their pain. I have felt that loss, that feeling that the world just tipped upside down like a snow globe and you are going to hit the ground hard and it will hurt when the world rights itself again. As I told my son this last week, when he didn't accomplish a goal he set for himself because of some kind of snafu, Life can be disappointing sometimes. Sometimes there is a blessing in not getting what you want right away. It may keep you from some other disaster.

We all need to appreciate what we have, what our priorities are, and find something to laugh about. It will help reduce the stress. It will make you feel grateful and it will bring about a sense of serenity, even if it is just for a moment or two. Make a list of all the things you are grateful for: Your life, each breath you take, your family, your friends, the roof over your head, the job you hate that still pays the bills, the talents God has given to you that will hopefully pay off in a book contract someday (oh, that's mine!). Little things add up, and when you feel the gratitude from your head to your toes, magical things happen.

And turn off the television until the news is better. There is a fine line between being informed and being overwhelmed into depression. Be informed, be grateful, and learn to live with less.

And get a hug from someone you care about. It helps a lot.

If you can, even if it is just a dollar, give to the Red Cross or your local church, or donate to another worthy cause. The feeling you get from it makes you feel like you can make a difference, even in some small way.

Remember, you get as good as you give. We will all get through this together.

Oh, and pray. It can't hurt.

3 comments:

Judy said...

Well stated Laura - an excellent read.

Judy
http://www.localfoodconnections.com

Sandy Lender said...

Laura,
I had one of those "what else?" moments this summer. The pity party was in full swing one morning, complete with sobbing and much sniffling into tissues, and I was attracting more crap than you can imagine with my attitude. Then there was a knock on the front door and I thought, "you can't be serious." Of course it was an officer of the court with another (yes, another) lawsuit against my landlord naming me (because I was the tenant) as a defendant. I wondered if the splotchy tears and sniffling didn't make him feel guilty...

Anyway, I decided it was time to stop the pity party. And I think your post here says that. No pity parties allowed. When we tell ourselves that we're bottomed out and nothing will get better, we're attracting more negativity and crap to ourselves. Whatever happened to positive thinking and prayers of thanks? Counting our blessings is good medicine.

I agree with you that turning off the television for a while would be good for all of us. So what if someone's stocks slide a few points while he or she isn't watching. Criminy, did you need that stock while you were watching the sunset and sipping on sweet tea? Did you need that stock while you were helping a friend clean out the garage? Did you need that stock while you were making home-made icecream with your kids? Screw the gloom-and-doom the news media is preaching right now. I've had enough of that crap in my life this summer to fill the local newspaper. It's time to write some good stories.

Fantasy Author Sandy Lender
"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."

Laura M. Crawford said...

Thanks, Judy and Sandy!

This summer when you moved to your new place, Sandy, I told you you would be turning a corner. I feel that you are still turning that corner in some ways, but for the most part, the rest will be behind you soon.

I am not a preacher, a minister, and I know there are those who are much wiser than I am, but I felt that enough is enough already. I don't think we should turn away when bad things happen, but instead, face them, and do it with as much dignity and grace we can. If we can't muster it within ourselves, then you must ask for it, through prayer or meditation or whatever you do to connect with that "Higher Power".

I have been through a lot of bad crap in my life, and I am sure that there will be more to go through, but right now, things are good. Not fabulous, but good. And that's ok for today.

And it helps to go through the good, the bad and the ugly when you have people, friends and family, that care about you and are there to help you.