At Your Service by Maggie Inge

Suze Orman, Dr. Phil, Arianna Huffington and a host of other “experts” on almost every subject seem to agree on one thing: in order to survive the economic miasma, we (that’s you and me) must return to core values. It is sound advice for most of their audience. What it tells me is that none of those experts live here in the Catskills.

Animals, from the most feral to the human variety, when in the wild, sleep in formations that enable protection from predators; hence the phrase, “I’ve got your back.” Even in our most civilized forms, we still need one another to see that which we cannot see ourselves. Feedback is one of the most critical elements of community.

Is it intelligent design or evolution? In one instance, we must believe that in the process of creation all factors were considered; in the other, that success hinges on adapting to a changing environment. In reality, we must plan for those circumstances we can foresee and be willing and able to adapt to market changes when we want our businesses to succeed.

A page in history has been turned. Like so many transition points before it, the inauguration of America’s first African-American president marks the beginning of something new more than it does an ending. Moving forward calls for us to marshal lessons from the past and use old skills in new ways.

Last week it was a new year and already it seems we are back to business as usual. Business as usual, that is, if you have become accustomed to operating based on fear.

The year 2008 was a remarkable one. Historical in very literal ways and noteworthy in others. At its end, we can gain a new perspective with 20/20 hindsight.

Time has gone into acceleration mode – it is December. Physics tells me that time proceeds at the very same pace through March as it does through December, but my experience tells a very different story.
Each year I stand at the top of December, as if it were a mountain. My skis are strapped on and the best I can hope for is that the mogul field will be short and the snow forgiving. If I gather enough speed in the first week, the downhill ride will be smooth (that is, I will remain upright); if, on the other hand, I stall early, I will struggle until the inevitable drop off to the last week (and probably do my world-famous face plant tumble into it).

There are many powerful words in the English language – words that seem to radiate with a power of their own to be self-fulfilling. One of these is the four-letter word: can’t. When you believe that something can’t be done, you will always be right that it can’t be done by you.

Thanksgiving is an extraordinary holiday and uniquely American. We all know the story of the first Thanksgiving: after a hard year on Massachusetts shores during which many lives were lost, in 1621 the surviving Pilgrims shared a celebratory harvest feast with their neighbors, the Wampanoags. It was a one-time expression of amazement that they had survived and gratitude that the abundance of the new harvest would enable them to make it through the cold, hard winter to come.

When I was a child I tended to the pensive side and in order to get my attention, my mother used a simple phrase, “penny for your thought.” It became such a familiar refrain that she would often simply smile and say, “penny…” What made these exchanges meaningful, was that she really did want to hear what I was thinking.