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December 10, 2007

Building: a Search for What's Best in Us

Back in April 2007, I volunteered in New Orleans. It was a thoroughly moving experience -- from witnessing the systemic chaos that you can practically smell in the air to good people working hard to a level of poverty I can barely imagine. And then there was the http://
French Quarter flowing with drinks and cash (evidenced by booze aplenty on the one hand and Sotheby's Auction House Realty signs on the other.)

I saw something while working with a volunteer group from my alma mater that has no peer. I feel like I found one of those anchor points in life, one of those reminders that there's more to our journey on earth than just making money and getting the kids into a good school.

I dashed off an essay when I got back from the trip and just found it. It's longer than a blog is supposed to be, but what with the holidays upon us, sometimes a story reflecting on who we are and what we mean to each other individually and as a society is welcome. Maybe not. Either way, I'd love to hear your take on it.

Peace...

In my years fixing houses, I've found building is more than nailing two pieces of wood together and collecting a check. It's about aspiring and making a connection.

It doesn't so much matter what you build; it matters that you build. Whether it's planting a garden or growing a great family or getting an education, endeavoring with intention opens a gateway to a different plane, helping us be better stewards of our daily lives.

Turning nothing into something -- or turning something broken into something beautiful -- tangibly connects us to … something. You might call it God, while other traditions may feel it as energy, Plato's Forms or Mojo. Whatever its name is, I can feel aspiration become action when I use my tools and know-how to change a vision into a reality. This excites me, and I'm not so concerned about naming what I'm connected to, but that I'm connected at all.

I've seen this connection arc between the work-a-day electrodes of daily life and the Ether. I worked with a volunteer group whose job was to prepare houses for renovation. And by "prepare," I mean "gut."

None in my specific group had much carpentry experience, but everyone had intention. They did what I believe all good carpenters -- and people -- aspire to do: leave a place better than they found it.

With yellow wrecking bars and blunt-force trauma, smiles and kind words, they ripped down ceilings, scraped tile and hauled mountains of trash for at least one man who couldn't do it himself. In so engaging themselves, I believe they did nothing less than help shore up the main beam of ethics and nobility.

But not every day is a big trip to an extreme place. Every day -- whoever you are -- is ... everyday.

Because there are so many days, they're the days that matter. They're the mass of life. They're the time spent with family, co-workers and friends, days that often promise scant novelty. Still they're moving with a lifetime's momentum of importance, and I'm reminded of what my family strives to build at home (including our home by the way -- the land of the eternal home improvement dust cloud!).

In building a life with my fiancée Theresa and daughter, I strive to create something with purpose that enriches our existence. But life is a team sport; I'm daily humbled and happy Theresa stands with me, often leading our way.

We're not summiting Everest or kayaking the Colorado. No, our blueprint calls for us to live each day kindly and well; to connect to that place out there that pulls us up from our routine, nudging us to be better and happier, reminding us to live good lives.

I believe that building is a search for what's best in us -- a search where we can find that which we seek.

Posted by Mark Clement at 1:42 PM | Comments (1)

December 4, 2007

Economics and Financial Management

The only people who might know less about the topics above than I do are pundits who say they know everything about the topics above.

Nevertheless, they touch every aspect of my life every day. Despite the story I tell at parties that I'm fabulously wealthy (would you like to visit my island some time?), I need to manage dollars. Who doesn't?

One of the things I think about: housing prices. They have leveled off (and even increased slightly in my area) and there is a growing inventory. And who didn't see Adjustable Rate Mortgage train barreling down the tracks? But I also know something else: I bought a house in 2000 that doubled -- doubled -- in value in about 3 years while the money I could charge for my services -- well, didn't.

Now, I'm hardly complaining about that increase, because I'm a capitalist. I'm just thinking. And the reality is when I bought subsequent homes, I bought them with a salary that didn't grow as sharply as home values.

So some English-major math shows that while housing prices doubled -- and kept climbing -- many salaries didn't keep pace. I know many of my friends' or colleagues' didn't. And I've heard the corporate mantra that raises need to be guarded while company profits blast off (and corporate officers regale their staffs with summering in their second homes) enough times that I want to barf. So is it any wonder things are "slowing"?

Seriously, my mom taught me a long time ago that you can't borrow more than you can pay back. I also know that life is more complicated than that, except that sometimes it isn't. And I also know the Nobel committee isn't going to be calling me about my thoughts on game theory.

So I leave it to you: What's your take? Is it pure greed that has driven prices too high? What corrected them? Or is the correction correct? Or is this Capitalism working just like it's supposed to?

Posted by Mark Clement at 1:35 PM