Very busy day! The topic of the day was change - good Buddhist topic - being in the business of promoting change and looking for solutions to problems is a challenge even on the best of days. Everyone hates change, even though we all know it is the one constant in life. Well, I actually shouldn't say that we all hate change - we simply hate to change! If others are changing to accomodate us, that's fine!

My guilty secret in going into the field of Quality and Performance Improvement is that I hate change too, but I realized that if I want things to go my way, I need to get off my duff and come up with some solutions to fix the problems. Even so, I feel that this is right livelihood for me, since I've learned so much about change and working toward an environment that fosters good work.

The best part of my job is to get people involved in the process - to help them see that they don't have to do things a certain way just because "we've always done it that way". That each of us can contribute. It's so tempting to have a negative attitude - in a way, it's the easiest way out to complain, then grow bitter about a situation - afterall, then it's the other guy's fault and what can I do about it anyway??

If I stop taking my circumstances personally, work for solutions, or simply patiently do the right thing each moment, I can be content. Like the story of the Starfish each thing I do makes a difference in that moment of mindfullness.