Is Being Philosophical About Our Circumstances A Luxury Or A Necessity?

by Robert Wilkinson

This began as an answer to a comment a while back. None of us need be trapped by circumstances. None of us need be poor, or struggle with life. All of us have skills to be developed we don't know about which could bring us relative wealth and the respect of our world. It all depends on being philosophical in the right way about the right things.

I last gave this to you about 9 years ago, and it seems relevant since many are struggling with various areas of their existence right now. Since I can only aver what I know from experience, let me share with you why I came to believe being philosophical about our circumstances and karma is a necessity.

Once upon a time when much younger I was extremely poor. I had a few skills and a lot of altruism, but I didn't have much other than the willingness to persevere. By the time I was in my mid-20s, though neither of us had any money, my wife and I still cooperated in raising our daughter the best we could, and made due with what was possible. We didn't have much, but we refused to consider ourselves poor, or allow life's troubles and challenges to make us defeatist in our attitudes.

Many complain about not having a mate to help them, either as a couple or a family. I have known many dozens of single parents who do the best they can, and with openness and willingness to improve their skills and way of life, also wind up in decent or even great circumstances. Some in fact do better alone than with a partner who is uncooperative, lazy, or nasty. Having a mate is no guarantee that one will do well, nor is being a single parent a sentence to poverty and ignorance.

We all have skills to be developed that could earn us a decent living at something productive. To cultivate them requires a degree of imagination and willingness to think outside our cultural box of what we've already been taught, opening to unknown possibilities. When we're tired of beating our head against the wall, then it's time to open to other things. Doors tend to open when we're not struggling against the tide of our own evolution.

"Being philosophical" may be the only hope we humans have, since it's where our imagination might stumble across that which could make us greater than we imagined. In just one instance of this in my life, in my mid-30s I was led within a relatively short time from a $5/hr word processing temp gig right into becoming a very much in demand television producer, director, editor and cameraman thanks to free on the job training. It took "being philosophical" for me to regard $5/hr as an opportunity rather than an insult.

We are NEVER supposed to be "objects of charity" or "poor in Spirit." We have the power to attract ourselves to the perfect situation, if only we stay open to being trained and willing to think outside our previous box of perception which got us stuck in the first place.

Here impatience and pride are real obstacles. This was true in my own experience, as well as the experience of many who I've counseled over decades. If we can be philosophical about worldly things, we won't fall into the traps of unhelpful feelings and thoughts. I've been ripped off many times, but it never put me down or kept me down, and taught me who my friends were and weren't.

There are many things we could do that this world will pay quite well for if we learn to do them well. If you are wondering what to do, or feel trapped in unfulfilling work, perhaps you could make your destiny as a chocolatier, or a paralegal, or a baker of breads and/or desserts, or any number of other things that the world needs, would welcome, and would pay quite well for your creative product.

Learn HTML programming, use your imagination, and you could create a video game that could make millions. Learn how to install drip irrigation systems and create gardens. Do a greenhouse and provide gardeners with the starts and sets they need each year. Learn to install gutters and save homeowners the pleasure of being flooded. Learn to install solar panels, solar water heaters, or solar ovens and help reduce the world's carbon footprint. There are many things to do in this world that could be fun and make you decent money.

Our well-being entirely depends on our point of view. It's all a question of "being philosophical" and seeing that mental slavery is the true problem in any question of unfulfilled Dharma. Even a pizza maker could be fulfilling a great purpose, where people would love the product and would find fellowship and good cheer. I know, for once upon a time in my early 20s that was me.

My main income at this time is as a personal counselor, but I also do this column as a labor of love. I have been a strategic adviser continuously for many decades for corporations as well as individuals. That has taken many forms over the years beyond whatever astrology I know. For example, my ability to type, edit, know elements of human nature, and keep confidences once allowed me to be a well-paid script consultant for a couple of the bigger Hollywood movies ever to hit the Silver Screen, Top Gun and Beetlejuice. (The latter movie’s characters and their idiosyncrasies were created using astrology!)

I have been self-employed for the past 50 years as a contractor in all the things I've mentioned here and many more. There have been no guarantees, no steady salary, and no retirement plans. I came to realize this may be the best thing that ever happened to me, since it forced me to take the initiative in every way this life.

I've had to take a philosophical approach to life with every breath I take, since no one but God and my Higher Self have ever given me anything beyond some basics, with the exception of a generous Spirit who funded my non-profit tax-exempt educational foundation so I could publish my books. (That was at my second Saturn Return, which also took away some mean people I had known my entire life. Something’s lost and something’s gained in living every day, as the wisdom of “Both Sides Now” offers.)

My path to self-sufficiency required cultivating skills beyond what I offer here in The Aquarius Papers. Since I came from relative poverty, I had to choose to accept many life circumstances that helped my understanding to be more well-rounded and get over some bad attitudes stemming from my early life.

I was in no way a child of privilege or wealth. Even if I was educated and had some degree of conscience, unlike so many in our world today, I still had to be philosophical about the changes, the gains and losses, and open to possibilities rather than cop a bad attitude about what I didn't have that others did.

Even though I believe I'm doing my part to assist the world to be a better place, I'm still learning, still improving my current skills and cultivating others. Now that I'm in my upper 60s, I have several things I do very well that the world would pay fairly well were I to do them instead of this. But I'll keep learning anyway, since life is an adventure in learning whatever floats our boat.

We all have potential we don't dream of. We all have skills that with a little training we could be great at. It all depends on finding the right point of view, and the willingness to learn. We are never trapped by circumstance. We are only trapped by our prerecorded bagism. And we can always "break on through to the other side."

It only takes being philosophical.

© Copyright 2009, 2018 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Nic]

Wonderful! Thank you for your honesty and transparency something much appreciated as it is a precious thing.

Blessings be to you and everyone.

[Ava Goodman]

I disagree with your philosophy. Precarious work, women who are pregnant, refugees, Indigenous (Native Americans), disabled, and people of colour, Jews, Muslims (anyone who is not Christian) have a tough time breaking through the glass ceiling.You are a privileged white (Christian) that lives in an astrological bubble. I think you need to communicate with real people doing boring, labour, mind numbing work before you even publish this garbage. I come from a social economic viewpoint where government can intervene to make life better for people with scarce income. Blaming the individual does not work anymore nor does the trickle down theory of economics. The planets Uranus, Pluto and Neptune deal with other influences as well as Jupiter and Saturn. But it is government that redistributes income to those in need and when it is taken away their is more hardship. A new economics is being written about by major economists - GUARANTEED INCOME for those who need it. Then we call all have a leisure life and not have to worry anymore about bad jobs.

[Robert]

Hi Ava - You may disagree, but ultimately it is the responsibility of the individual to learn all they can learn in life, hopefully to make the world a better place AND make money. I have worked with clients of every single subgroup you list; they were all human beings with hearts and minds who wanted to improve their lives. That is done by learning whatever we must learn to transcend the limitations of self and society.

You really think I'm a "privileged white Christian that lives in an astrological bubble?" That's very presumptuous. You literally have no idea what I've been through to be where I'm at right now. No one I've ever met wanted to swap places with me. I have BEEN with "real people doing boring, labour, mind numbing work." You didn't pay attention to the time I was a temp typist? You don't think I interacted with all the other "real people" doing boring jobs? I was once a stone mason; learned from scratch. Hauled hundred pound sacks of cement around; used rakes and shovels on mortar; put up and took down scaffolding; who are you to tell me anything about hard labor? I washed dishes and cut tree limbs and put up sheetrock with other "real people." I've worked at grinding jobs and fulfilling jobs. My only offering is that anyone, with the right attitude and the right training, might escape from a boring or unfulfilling job.

I have never addressed anything about the place of govt in taking care of social services, so your attack is misguided. I never blamed anyone; I'm merely affirming the absolute truth that if you don't like some part of your life, it's your responsibility to take care of business, and not sit around waiting for the phone to ring. This is not "trickle down." That's a delusion on your part if you believe I buy into any of that nonsense. It's clear you infer a lot despite the absence of evidence.

And I totally disagree with your last sentence. Life is not about "a leisure life and not have to worry anymore about bad jobs." Life is about learning, and growing, and contributing to a better world. Life is about finding our gifts and expressing them the best we're able, creating a life work that is fulfilling. Life is about making mistakes on our path to mastering Life, and moving from lesser skills to greater ones. Life is about learning to live with no regrets, no worry, and no fear. It sure isn't about leisure. Peace out.

[Dominic]

I absolutely loved the message and post ❤️

It’s all about creating opportunities and moving away from the victim mentality. Learning to navigate through life and self sufficiency...not depending on circumstances to magically change. I feel it is crucial we as human beings begin to opt out of the system which is currently in place - thank you for continuing to inspire and spreading intelligence.

I have always worked entry level jobs and learned much from all the experience. I am currently working for someone who started their own company and it is incredibly rewarding. We both share a love for philosophy and most days after work make the time to converse about all things life. My boss dealt with depression/suicidal thoughts up until his 30’s and eventually became inspired by some great thinkers. It is never too late to cultivate your dreams and make a positive impact on those beings around you.

[Peg]

Ava. Robert is right ... and you are wrong.

[Trixie]

I+t is not what you know it is who you know. " I saw this so many in my 30+ years in the working world. It would be nice if what you say is true but it it has not been my experience. If it were I would not be unemployed for 4 years

[Robert]

Hi Dominic - Yes, it is about creating opportunities for oneself, and stop waiting for Godot. Yes to learning to navigate with self-sufficiency, and not expecting things to change unless WE change them. And of course, if we cannot change them, and they're not good for us, then it's time to go somewhere else and do something else. That way we're not victims of circumstance or our own lack of initiative. And yes, it's never too late to cultivate your dreams and become a greater human being than we were.

Hi Peg - Yes.

Hi Trixie - While that may be true for some of the people some of the time, it is not a universal rule. I didn't get one gig b/c of my connections, but I did get all of them due to my initiative and hustle. Maybe your experience is one of needing to think outside your own perceptual box? There is no one who is doomed to be unemployed; I know that for a fact. We can ALWAYS find a job; the trick is not to get stuck below our creative potential. This is exactly why I made a point of saying that someone like you needs to get trained in something new that society wants and needs; get educated, and keep learning until you are so good that you cannot be overlooked. I did it that way "in the working world." I worked for more years than many have lived; I still am. I still keep learning, and now have skills that are transferrable to several areas. Open your imagination to what you might want to do, and you don't know where it could take you.

[sue]

Call me british...philosophy we do over tea everyday...

[Carlos]

Thanks for the article Robert enjoying it thoroughly,
Especially loved your reference "Something's lost and something's gained in living everyday, thank you