I’m a software engineer and crafting software is also my real passion.
I’m very lucky: I have a wonderful family, a delightful wife, two beautiful daughters and I do what I like as an everyday job. Not all of us have this kind of luck and I’m aware of this.
Sometimes I forget about it and negative thoughts prevail. This is the reason I decided to write this blog. All you can find here, is not exactly what it is, but rather what it should be. Writing is a big step into the road to improve myself.
There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. Gautama Buddha
I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. Michael Jordan
Working in the real world is much more difficult than what a blog post can show. There aren’t enough words to explain the complexity of working with a lot of people, a lot of different personalities and quite different minds. Tecnical stuff is pretty easy: learn, try, adopt, think, improve, restart. Dealing with people is much more difficult and working in the world of connection and globalization is complex. Every engineer is striken by a lot of tasks, issues, requests, time/resource constraints and conflicts. Our mind is full of thoughts, all streaming at the same time.
In all this, you have to look for harmony in your own home and family. So in the end, a lot of us have some kind of shutdown. Maybe your shutdown is a violent event or maybe is just a short period. We need to put organization in our life to restart: be simple, be minimal, do less, do it better.
The last year I read a nice book that helped me to open up my mind a little more. The name of the book is “Zen Programmer” by Christian Grobmeier and it is a nice work that I really suggest to read.
I am fascinated by oriental phylosophies. Buddhism and Confucianism theorized about the human behaviour for centuries. They cover human issues to 360 degrees. I had a wide path this year. I discovered Hagakure and the Bushido. I read about samurai codes and values. I read about chivalry code. I read about minimalism, decluttering, zen. I found Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits.
I put it all together. Returning on me.
I am a software engineer and I do care about my work.Me
We are used to have targets and missions. However the target or the mission is not the end point of your job.
The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination. Don Williams Jr.
The important thing is the journey. So we have to learn and work hard to improve ourself. There are multiple colors in the world: not only black and not only white.
It is needed for us to see and appreciate all the nuances. The middle way is the key. Do not be strict. Do not be careless. Do not be stubborn. Do not be submissive. Look. Do not close your eyes to the world. Listen. Do not allow your ego to prevail others. Care. This is the difference between crashing into things and beeing part of them. Me