Dalai Lama Quote of the Week, from Snow Lion Publications.
Among Tibetans, at least traditionally, the economic conditions are such that this nine-to-five daily employment isn't really an important part of [working life]. In Tibet, either you are a farmer or a nomad or a merchant. The work is seasonal.... During the season they work very hard, and when they finish they come back and don't have any employment.
...in modern society, and particularly in industrialized nations, the issue of unemployment is a very difficult situation. There are no easy answers. One has no choice but to try to cope, and make one's best effort to find new work. There is just no other solution.
However, the basic attitude of the individual plays a very significant role, and can make a big difference in how someone responds. While we may not have control over our situation, our attitude is something that we have some control over. So first, what we need to realize is that uncertainty and change are very much a part of the modern economy, particularly with regard to employment. That is a serious problem, but a fact that we have to accept. There is no guarantee that there will be a job tomorrow if you are working today. So, if we understand this ahead of time, it may change how we respond when that happens. Then we won't feel so surprised, as if we are singled out. We understand that the loss of a job has many factors, the result of many causes and conditions. We will understand that, in many cases, it may even have roots in global economic issues. This way, we won't become so upset by taking it personally, or looking around us for someone to blame for our problems. This alone may help reduce our mental agitation. Of course, here we are talking about unemployment due to some wider causes or layoffs, not due to being fired because of one's own incompetence.
So there might be different ways in which individuals will respond to the challenges of change. What is important is to acknowledge this fact and try to work out how best to cope with the immediate problem itself. For example, if you need employment as a means of your livelihood and if you become unemployed, then all your efforts should be put into looking for new employment so that your livelihood will be secure. But there are two different responses. One person may feel demoralized and become sort of paralyzed, thinking, There is no hope, I lost my job, what am I supposed to do? But another individual in the same situation might look at it as an opportunity to make some changes. As a challenge. So that is the more positive way, the more proactive way of dealing with this problem. But of course it is not easy.
There may also be other ways that might help at least reduce the mental anxiety of dealing with the situation, so that a person can use all their mental energy to find new work. For Buddhists, there are certain thought processes and considerations that help--for example, the belief in karma [one's actions] and ultimately taking responsibility for one's own karma. Although this kind of mental attitude may not have any effect in physically resolving the situation, at least it will help ease the individual from the psychological effect of losing the job, and so on. And of course, believers in other religious systems can also take some consolation in their own beliefs.
~ From The Art of Happiness at Work by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Dr. Howard C. Cutler, M.D.
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