Now with 20% LESS!!!
When a company wants to show you they care, they have big shout outs that extoll how it saves money, is good for the planet, better taste, lower fat, no GMO’s or is gluten free. But when they want to pull the wool over your ipad they do it with smoke and mirrored servers.
In my grocery delivery yesterday I noticed that one of the shampoo bottles had a new sleek shape. At first I thought … ooo! cool!! it is easier to grip in the shower. But then I looked at the fluid ounces and saw that this “new and improved” bottle of conditioner was 20% less than what they use to bottle and sell for the same price. Indeed one of the many reasons to still consider “no poo“.
Somehow I feel slighted both literally and metaphoric, when a company makes an obvious change with Machiavellian motives. In this case its only a few cents for a few less bubbles down the drain. But sometimes it can be a serious slap in the face. Take for instance the new t-mobile adds 
that are everywhere you look. NO MORE CONTRACTS!! UNLIMITED DATA!! Sounds too good to be true? Well of course it is. What they don’t shout from the top of the mountain is that TMOBILE will NO LONGER OFFER YOU A PHONE!! Its like offering you an unlimited Chinese buffet but making you buy your own china plate at $500 a place setting.
And don’t get me started about their “migration fee” to switch over to the new Smart-less-Phone-Plans, or the fact that I’m trapped now in a contract with a carrier who has abandoned the services that I signed up for.
Deep breath. For me, its about impeccable words and lies of omission. From The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz:
1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
I use to buy that book for each new staff member that I hired during my high tech career. It gave us each a common vocabulary and a deep understanding of the values and principals that I wanted to establish in my department. Indeed when something is painful for me in my life, I realize that I am often forgetting one or more of the four rules. So for now I’ll simply notice the fleecing of our senses and do my best not to take it personally, with holding my assumptions and keeping my word in true form. After all, I know that Karma exists … and in the end … Karma Bytes. 😉
