Observations -- Something different

Dinner with Carl. Clemson University has been inviting me to speak at one of their successful conferences for several years. The topic: the impact of financial cycles on management decision-making.

This year, as in previous years, Carl called me from Chicago and invited me to have dinner with him the evening before my scheduled talk. Carl is a seasoned marketing executive and has the enthusiasm and personality of a person with important sales responsibilities.

At dinner he told me about his family and his several children. Some are doing very well. Others still need some assistance and backing. His eyes were looking far away as he was thinking what needed to be done. His family has been and still is his main focus. It gave me a nice, warm feeling about the man in front of me.

By the time we finished the wine and chose dessert the conversation shifted to caring for people and the meaning of it all. I suggested we behave in a way that helps to achieve peace of mind within the laws of society. A task difficult to accomplish, but worth the effort. Some people can do it alone. Others have to find refuge in the structure of a group, or a formal religion, with its rules, ideological schemes, rituals, and pageantry.

The end result is the same. Piece of mind. A sense that we have reached a state of tranquility. We are relaxed, almost in a condition of stillness, because we finally seem to understand the meaning of things. We have gained a perspective, a mature way to look at the world.

We are enlightened because we feel we have found God. But there is the risk of confusing piece of mind with

God. Or is God the same as piece of mind? If I achieve piece of mind without God, then does God exist? Do people need a formal religion because they cannot find the path (“Tao” in Chinese) by themselves and need the assurance and comfort of belonging to a group?

Carl and I explored some of these questions. When we left we had a sense that we learned from each other and we welcomed the opportunity to tackle challenging issues.

Thanks for inviting me. Until next year, Carl.

(This "Observations" appeared in the issue of 4/9/01 of The Peter Dag Portfolio)

George Dagnino, PhD
Editor, The Peter Dag Portfolio. Since 1977
Ranked best market timer in the 12 and 6 months ending 8/20/10 by Timer Digest

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