Letter from Jeff – Quarterly Newsletter Q3 2022
Are You Smiling?
by Jeff Millens
I hope you are smiling, but I do know at times there are reasons not to be. We can all get stuck in issues such as, inflation/fuel prices/recession – not fun, but real.
Today’s world is a bit complex, confusing, stressful, and sometimes it just isn’t fun. In transportation, we are ALL still dealing with high prices (not helped by fuel), not enough capacity in the system to handle freight (look at berth times for ocean containers & the rail situation) – constant delays! When will it change? Nobody seems to know for sure. What we do know, is that it will not change tomorrow. But we can change our mindset on how we handle this, which is just as important as the situation we are ALL dealing with.
As businesses we need to make changes such as building up inventory, planning for longer transit times, understanding the new costs structure in freight, and evaluating sourcing options. Great – these are business decisions that make sense, and we can implement. How do we handle the stress and frustration that is making us not smile so much? Maybe we could learn from this Buddhist story.
The story goes that two monks were traveling together, a senior and a junior. They came to a river with a strong current where a young woman was waiting, unable to cross alone. She asks the monks if they would help her across the river. Without a word and despite the sacred vow he’d taken not to touch women, the older monk picks her up, crosses, and sets her down on the other side.
The younger monk joins them across the river and is aghast that the older monk has broken his vow but doesn’t say anything. An hour passes as they travel on. Then two hours. Then three. Finally, the now quite agitated younger monk can stand it no longer: “Why did you carry that woman when we took a vow as monks not to touch women?”
The older monk replies, “I set her down hours ago by the side of the river. Why are you still carrying her?”
Basically, we must do our best to live in the present and not dwell on the past. The past 2-3 years have been rough for many of us personally and professionally. As a company, Trans-Border is focused on moving forward. We work with our colleagues daily to keep the atmosphere upbeat and positive – we want to keep a smile on all our faces and yes, all of yours too.
Yesterday is History and Tomorrow is a Mystery but Today is a gift, that is why we call it the Present. This quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, which I first heard in the Kung Fu Panda movie (that movie made me smile), really helped me move forward. We can all work together to enjoy the present, hopefully with some freight that arrives on time!! 😊
Take care – Jeff
We at Trans-Border work hard and play hard. Check out the other happenings here at Trans-Border.
