Consequences II

It is often the tragedies in life that help us evolve into better beings.  After I lost my job, life was kind of scary for a day or two.  As Sy and I began to develop a business plan for our new business, we settled down and laid the groundwork for the rest of our lives.  It has been a liberating experience for us that will allow us to shape our destiny.

Many spiritual traditions teach that endings are also beginnings.  We see in nature as nothing is wasted.  When life ends it recycles into nutrients for new life.  In life it is the same.  The loss of my job has opened up new opportunities that otherwise might not have been taken.   But with endings and beginnings comes change and learning.

When you have the security net of a regular weekly pay check it is easy to get caught in the pay check to pay check rat race.  It is easy to get caught up in the drama of day to day life.  In this state it is near impossible to live in the moment and be mindful of our thoughts and actions.  The resulting actions and consequences can cause suffering and further cycles of bad choices.

After the liberation of losing my job,  I find I have time for things like meditation, yoga and reflection.  I find that I am less stressed and angry.  I find that I can balance my life out instead of dedicating so much time to the corporation to go nowhere.  With this liberation came a wake up call to clean up the rest of our lives.

Sy and I have been fiscally lazy over the last years.  With the creation of our new business, and with the realization that we and we alone are responsible for our fiscal well being, especially without the security check each week from the rat race job,  we had to account and reign in our fiscal laziness.  It has been difficult, and we may lose our house, but it sets us on a path to a more sustainable and financially sound life.

There are other areas of our lives I could discuss in much the same way.  Sy and I are both stubborn.  Especially when it comes to communicating with one another.  Since I have lost my job,  we have had to work on our communication.  We communicate better now than probably any time in the last five years.  The trick is to be mindful of the moment and then the next.  If we get caught in the drama of the past and the worry of the future, then we aren't living right now.

Consequences

Sometimes we make choices and take actions that we know may end up with results that are detrimental to us.  And yet we do them anyway.  And when it comes time to accept the consequences we must.  I have made many of these choices over the years.  Everyday for the past several years, I have chosen to partake of a plant that in the eyes of the law is forbidden.  This is a plant that has been used by humans since we first started using plants.  It is now legal in 14 states to use for medical purposes with approval or recommendation by a doctor.  That plant is cannabis.

I use cannabis through a variety of methods, including smoking, ingesting, and as a lotion that eases aches and pains.  Having some anger issues, cannabis helps calm my mind.  It enhances my spiritual practices.  It enhances perception of things like television and music. New medical and scientific studies show that cannabis likely has cancer preventative and curing possibilities. 

My wife has a state issued certificate to consume and grow her own cannabis for legitimate medical purposes.  I have chosen to source mine from local growers and take the risk of misdemeanor prosecution.  (I never have more than is a misdemeanor offense.)  A plant that my wife may legally grow in our house is now costing me my job.  I am not complaining.  I accept the consequences of my actions.  I point out this irony to highlight the disparity in law.  For instance, lets say Coworker A goes home has a few drinks after work.  They may cop a buzz.   It is perfectly legal.  Yet if I want to go home and smoke a bowl or two and relax to some music, it is illegal.  This is ludicrous.  I don't approve of anybody who drinks and drives or smokes and drives.  I am a big believer in personal responsibility. If the choice is made, the consequences whatever they may be must be acceptable.  I do not partake while driving or at work.  

So now I am on administrative leave pending the outcome of the urinalysis test I took this morning.  By the end of the week I will likely be terminated from my job.  I do not fault my company for enforcing its policies within the framework of the law.  I implore those that read this though, to think about what cannabis prohibition really does to society.  In some states possession of even a seed is grounds for felony charges.  In this country we are putting people in prison who use a plant that will grow just about anywhere on Earth.  These folks end up learning new criminal behavior and then end up back on the streets doing worse behavior, only to end up back in prison.  We spend billions on policing and prosecuting millions of non-violent cannabis users.  I support the exponentially growing support for decriminalizing cannabis in this country.  Prohibition didn't work for alcohol.  I suspect that some of my ancestors who lived through alcohol Prohibition, looked at the violence associated with it much as we look at the drug lords and cartels in Mexico and increasingly the Southwest U.S..  It is also likely that some of my ancestors were moonshiners or helped those who were, or were simply supportive of repealing prohibition.

NORML: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

DrugWarFacts.org/marijuana

CannabisNews.org

Control and Tax Cannabis California 2010

HailMaryJane.com