fleeing or fujhi, poudes; escapa, non

flee gotta go fast

===

“Sometimes one just gets tired of fleeing.

The world’s very small when you don’t have anywhere to go.”

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

———

Fujhi, poudes; escapa , non.

<flee, you may; escape, you cannot.>

——————

flee pepeSo. This is a business and personal Life thought about fleeing. Or. Running away from something.

Which leads me to flee, you may; escape, you cannot.

 Escapa , non

In today’s world fleeing anything, in life or business, is tough. While it may seem like a great big expansive world, the shit that we have a tendency to flee either has some special ray gun that shrinks the world or it is so much faster than we are that it can appear before us no matter where we flee.

That said.

First. Business.

There’s a lot of navel-gazing when it comes to business. I mention navel gazing because I often think navel gazing is simply a business version of fleeing. It often feels like we’re having too many conversations about things that don’t matter and not enough about things that do, in other words, fleeing the shit that matters.

I don’t really understand why because most businesses are a incredibly smart, resourceful, creative groups of people and they should be spending their precious attention, energy, and innovative idea skills solving meaningful problems.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t engage in thoughtful circumspect conversations about shit, but the shit we discuss should be the shit that matters.

shit no one noticedIt often feels like business people flee the stuff that matters only to run toward the shit that doesn’t.

I get frustrated because it often feels like we flee the hard stuff and use the easy stuff as an easy target.

I mostly get frustrated because even if a business organization does this … well … escapa , non.

You cannot flee. You cannot escape the stuff that matters.

Second. Personal.

Well. There are maybe three significant aspects of fleeing in a personal sense – fleeing someone, fleeing something and fleeing oneself.

Let’s begin with … fleeing someone

“We both wanted to know each other’s secrets, and we both wanted the other person to go first.

This is something that happens quite a bit, which is why you so often see children and adults staring at one another in nervous silence.”

Lemony Snicket

Someone always has to go first.

And someone always has to go.

There is always a graceful option when fleeing. It is just difficult to see … and do. Most of us stumble our way thru fleeing someone. We sometimes stare at the other hoping they go first. We maybe go without saying anything <and the other people have no clue if you have flown … or why>. We may simply go saying all the wrong things.

It happens quite a bit.

Suffice it to say you cannot flee someone in your life, you can only disengage.

If you try and flee, well, escapa, non. You never escape. You have simply delayed the inevitable.

Next … fleeing something … or ‘things’ <in today’s world>.

Whew. This is a tough one.

Raise your hand if you have a smartphone <about 90% of you between 12 and 54 just raised your hand>. Over 90% of us have some handheld technology which permits texting, calling or emailing on a whim. Huge changes in technology and in society in recent years have blurred many of the old, familiar, reassuring boundaries.

Uhm.

Without boundaries where does on flee?

Where does work stop and life begin?

Where does my time stop and your time begin?

In the past the boundaries were very clear. I imagine my point here is that there is an interesting clash between what we, almost all of us, innately desire – boundaries – and change. We desire one thing almost desperately and yet find ourselves fighting the opportunity to do it.

This maybe a case of ‘be careful what you wish for.’

But. What is winning is the desire for boundless freedom of doing. All demographics are embracing their nomad desires … the ability to live what has traditional been done in the physical home in what is now a boundary-less intangible walking around home.

The only boundaries are actually some aura shell around yourself. By the way, no one can see this boundary but yourself. This means you are screwed. You may think with this invisible force field around you that you may be able to flee the things swirling around you … sometimes by thinking it is as simple as ‘turning your smartphone off’ … uhm … escapa , non.

Things are better and faster and more resilient and, well, more <as in sheer quantity> than you. Fleeing simply means you will get smothered from behind. You may as well stand there and face ‘things’ and strengthen your own personal boundaries. You can never escape things but you certainly can deflect things if you stand there and see them coming.

Lastly … fleeing yourself

“People are running, running, but there is no place in the world to which they can flee to escape themselves.

Ultimately, each one must face himself. “

Paramahansa Yogananda

clueless clever-but-we-are-cluelessIt almost seems like today’s world the self help people and brand marketing and the futuristic blowhards all encourage us to think there is something wrong with us. That we aren’t ‘enough’ or passionate or focused or … well … we are lacking in some form or fashion.

Add in the fact that today’s complex issues facing us have no clear right or wrong answers.

Some who feel a strong need for boundaries will look to the past for guidance and try to build strong solid boundaries. Others with a higher tolerance for ambiguity may develop a personal set of flexible boundaries.

The truth is Life has become a contentious blend of flexible and inflexible boundaries. Individuals and societies will try to organize all their own personal chaos with boundaries with some intent to keep out all the external chaos only to find a couple things:

a. Keeping any boundary in place is very very difficult because too much is changing too fast for boundaries to hold for long.

b. Building your own boundary means you have to face yourself … uhm … the same self that society & all the experts … is suggesting doesn’t have its shit together. More often than not we either struggle to know what type of boundary we should build or decide we need to flee our own boundary on occasion because it all becomes ‘too much’ inside what we built.

compete boundariesEscapa , non. Whether inside some finite space boundary or wandering aimlessly outside the boundary in some seemingly infinite space — fleeing yourself just doesn’t work.

Mostly because where you are, well, you are there.

We may not always like what we see when we look in the mirror, but I can guarantee one thing – external critics will ALWAYS find something they don’t like.

Fuck ‘em.

Don’t flee them, just ignore them. And don’t flee yourself just remember that perfection is mostly found in glorious imperfections. Yeah. Don’t flee your imperfections, they make you who you are.

Whew.

I used too many words.

Maybe I could have just said this instead of all the other crap I wrote, here is all I know about fleeing.

You cannot escape whatever you are fleeing.

Period.

No debate.

Doesn’t matter what it is or where you are.

Mainly because whatever you think you are fleeing doesn’t reside only in the place you are running from. Those things you elect to flee are the things that most often live in a variety of different places & spaces. In other words, the world is a very small place when you have no place to go.

Anyway. Sometimes … okay … most times … it is much better if you suck it up and stand there rather than flee. Even if it is painful, I actually think you feel better about yourself.

“Maybe you can afford to wait.

Maybe for you there’s a tomorrow.

Maybe for you there’s one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around it, let it slide like coins through your fingers.

So much time you can waste it.

But for some of us there’s only today.

And the truth is, you never really know. “

Lauren Oliver

Most importantly.time obsessed and today

Fleeing means not facing today, and … well … the truth is you never really know if today may be ‘it.’. Finis.

Lastly.

On the whole small world and fleeing thing. It used to be fairly black and white. The world was the world and escaping was escaping. You had clear boundaries here there and everywhere.

Now they are nowhere.

The world is both big and small.

Lots of room to wander and explore and run — just nowhere to flee.

So. Remember every time you think of fleeing … escapa, non.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Written by Bruce