Rock and a hard place

Lately while walking the dog in the mid-mornings, I have seen a guy sitting on this bench with a beer can beside him. The weather has been warm so there is nothing unusual except, he is relatively well dressed and has a briefcase beside him. He looks like he is on his way to work in middle-management at a factory office, just as he had done the last thirty years. Perhaps that is where his wife thinks he is.

Historically in Finland, alcohol and subsequent alcoholism has had a major impact on the culture and can still be seen in the domestic violence statistics. It has also affected areas of employment and HR with around 10-15 percent of working age men having some form of alcohol abuse on going. Almost 10 percent of the entire population are registered as problem drinkers.

This guy, slumped over looking depressed and dejected may have recently lost his job and is perhaps too ashamed to tell his family. They will find out soon enough. Does the 9am beer help? Was it an influencing factor or reason for losing his job?

Of course, maybe he just likes to drink well dressed in the park, who knows.

I just find the pattern common here and also in general where rather than facing our troubles, we instead turn to our demons. It is a self-defeating but all too common process.

Avoidance.

When it comes to improving our position or climbing out of a poor one, turning away from what needs to be done into the arms of what is comfortable rarely helps. In the short-term it may offer relief but the long-term just keeps getting more difficult and the more insurmountable and hopeless it looks, the greater the drive to avoid starting the climb.

The challenges of life don't go away when we close our eyes, they grow in the darkness.

Taraz
[ an original ]