Ace of Wands

A reocurring card, that's for sure. This is the card about creativity and new ways of doing things. I'm not in a very enthusiastic mood, but I did get a chance to talk to a friend who is.

After my interview at the company I didn't want to work for last week, I told them to give a call to a friend and previous colleague. Whether it was the strength of my interview skills or just because they planned to do it anyway, an hour later, she got a call and an interview! Hearing her enthusiasm for the job, and knowing that she is certainly a better match than I am, reinforced this idea that we can all act in the world in a creative way and with good intentions.

I've been wanting this colleague to succeed professionally for a long time. It is probably extremely unusual to provide a "competitor's" resume at the end of a job interview. Nevertheless, this action was about a different way of thinking about jobs. I considered what might be best for the company I was interviewing with. I called my friend and got her resume.

I went to my own interview, prepared to recommend her if I felt the job did not suit me, but might suit her. It was not a comfortable thing to do, but I felt I really had nothing to lose. The Ace of wands is also about Confidence and Courage - I had to trust that things would work out. I don't believe they would have - the recommendation would not have been taken at face value - if I had not done all of these things selflessly. And I have to say, I really enjoyed it.

Knowing I was helping a friend. Knowing I was potentially helping some random company I care nothing about. Knowing I was making connections and being a part of things happening. I suppose the rush comes from the "puppetmaster" aspect - but if the networking and relationship building and gatekeeping can occur with only the win-win in mind, can all the negative perceptions about the activities be negated? Can we just call it facilitation and end the conversation? Yet even in my own mind, the process takes on a shady tint.

Reminds me of something I heard on the radio. The mayor is in trouble for working out deals behind closed doors. Nobody's pocket got lined, no favors were exchanged. No individuals benefitted - only the citizens and the town as a whole. So there is a move by the City Council to censure him. Officially slap his hand for doing it all without informing the public.

So, what exactly are we paying our politicians FOR anyway? I thought we were paying for networking. I thought we were paying for charisma, negotiation and the ability to run our cities and governments smoothly so that society benefits. Slap his Public Relations Department instead, geesh!

Perhaps I only think that because I read too many SF and Fantasy novels with Kings in them. Power can be used for good or bad, but we are still electing officials and paying for them to have the power - why would we pay them and then hamstring them by telling them not to use it unless we're watching. Why would we make our officials responsible for the watching - that is OUR JOB!

Not only that, but what a sad state: Honest politics = Newsworthy. Nobody mentioned it, but how unusual would a headline be which said: "Secret deal making results in better quality of life for citizenry because mayor does his job well."