Can I really just ignore them?

Last year, on a lark, I bought The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Reading that didn't work so well. I'm still as stressed as ever. There is, however, one lesson from Patanjali that I did learn.

This is the yoga sutra:

By cultivating attitudes of friendliness towards the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous and disregard toward the wicked, the mind stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.

Before we get into the deeper meaning of the sutra, can we just address the phrase "mind stuff"? I love it. Instead of saying, "My brain hurts," from now on, I'm going to say, "My mind stuff hurts."

Anyway! If we follow Patanjali, does that mean we can really just ignore people who are wicked? I mean, I have an EVIL boss. So when She-Devil calls me into her office, I'm going to ignore her from now on. Then my mind stuff will always be calm.

A good plan for inner peace, but probably a bad plan for keeping my job.

How to have (fat and) happy coworkers

I stole this tip from my coworker, A. Every week, she has a new bag of candy on her desk. It's always some sort of odd candy (Shockers--remember those? Gobstoppers--really?!) that she doesn't even like. But there are those little sugar pills, sitting in an open bag, surrounded by greedy, cranky, angry folks.

A. sits silently, working away...and we all eat her sweet stash. (Well, that sounds naughty.) Even the boss folk can't resist. Of course, when you happen by A.'s desk for a treat, she may spill some gossip or expect some in return.

Let's review: candy makes coworkers happy. Happy coworkers spill office gossip. Bringer-of-candy stays skinny and in the loop. Win!