It must have been an important decision for
this moth/butterfly to land on this particular flower, but why this one? Our answer
is usually instinct, when we do not know why. The same could apply to humans I
suppose.
Before I became a golden oldie, savouring the advantages of retired life, I was a working woman. Thirty years of exporting machine tools all over the world. Sending the goods to European countries was one of the easier tasks. Establish the documents, call a truck, put it on a train or perhaps even on a plane, and the job was done. If problems occurred on the journey, the goods did not arrive, you knew the company and its employees, so contact was quickly made and you talked over the problems and you were 99% sure that the bill would be paid.
Sending goods to the Far and Near East and Asia was a different kettle of fish. You might have written contact with the customers, but you had to be sure that the invoice was paid when the goods arrived. Banks were involved, yours and his, and Letters of Credit were established, but there was still a percentage of uncertainty. What if his bank went bankrupt, the goods were lost on the way, he did not bother to pick them up when they arrived. This sometimes happened by sea freight. If he did not pick the goods up, they were auctioned off in the harbour and a sly customer knew he could bid for the goods at a much lower price than he would have paid our company. You could go with your gut or reason through it, but it was all a matter of luck. After working in export for so long, you eventually just got the feeling for it, you could call it export instinct perhaps.
Today I am retired, and make my decisions for I, me and myself, with a little discussion with Mr. Swiss and vice versa. If I have a decision to make, whether it is something I want to purchase, or perhaps a course I want to take part in, I usually make usage of the words of my Tai Chi guru, he always says “there is no rush in Tai Chi” and this can be applied to many things. I suppose today I am now priviledged to have time for my decisions.
As you grow older, everything seems to go into slow motion. Your body no longer reacts as fast as it used to. You do not run for the bus any more, but just take the next one if it goes. There is no longer any rush and I have learned to be patient. I first of all think yes (or no) for a matter of importance and then I sleep over it one or two days, taking everything into consideration. I find this gives me time to see the problem from all angles and more often than not my ultimate choice is far from the primary choice.
Gut decisions are a thing of the past, “there is no hurry in life”.
And now what shall we have for the evening meal? No problem, just me and Mr. Swiss. My son has just gone off to a local pop concert where he helps out as a roadie, so let us make it quick and easy: a frozen pizza. Ten minutes in the oven and then eat it – that is an important decision I have to make.
Before I became a golden oldie, savouring the advantages of retired life, I was a working woman. Thirty years of exporting machine tools all over the world. Sending the goods to European countries was one of the easier tasks. Establish the documents, call a truck, put it on a train or perhaps even on a plane, and the job was done. If problems occurred on the journey, the goods did not arrive, you knew the company and its employees, so contact was quickly made and you talked over the problems and you were 99% sure that the bill would be paid.
Sending goods to the Far and Near East and Asia was a different kettle of fish. You might have written contact with the customers, but you had to be sure that the invoice was paid when the goods arrived. Banks were involved, yours and his, and Letters of Credit were established, but there was still a percentage of uncertainty. What if his bank went bankrupt, the goods were lost on the way, he did not bother to pick them up when they arrived. This sometimes happened by sea freight. If he did not pick the goods up, they were auctioned off in the harbour and a sly customer knew he could bid for the goods at a much lower price than he would have paid our company. You could go with your gut or reason through it, but it was all a matter of luck. After working in export for so long, you eventually just got the feeling for it, you could call it export instinct perhaps.
Today I am retired, and make my decisions for I, me and myself, with a little discussion with Mr. Swiss and vice versa. If I have a decision to make, whether it is something I want to purchase, or perhaps a course I want to take part in, I usually make usage of the words of my Tai Chi guru, he always says “there is no rush in Tai Chi” and this can be applied to many things. I suppose today I am now priviledged to have time for my decisions.
As you grow older, everything seems to go into slow motion. Your body no longer reacts as fast as it used to. You do not run for the bus any more, but just take the next one if it goes. There is no longer any rush and I have learned to be patient. I first of all think yes (or no) for a matter of importance and then I sleep over it one or two days, taking everything into consideration. I find this gives me time to see the problem from all angles and more often than not my ultimate choice is far from the primary choice.
Gut decisions are a thing of the past, “there is no hurry in life”.
And now what shall we have for the evening meal? No problem, just me and Mr. Swiss. My son has just gone off to a local pop concert where he helps out as a roadie, so let us make it quick and easy: a frozen pizza. Ten minutes in the oven and then eat it – that is an important decision I have to make.
I've always been a person to consider important decisions carefully and thoroughly, even when I was young. I've never been an impulsive person.
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