The Malta Independent on Sunday
Moving away from a scarcity mindset
We don’t need to take too far a trip down memory lane to recall a classic example of the scarcity mindset in action. Remember in March 2020, when we first started having the first cases of Covid-19 in Malta? Were you one of the people barrelling down the supermarket aisles with a trolley full of dry goods and toilet paper or were you one of the more relaxed shoppers wondering if you should throw an extra packet of spaghetti into your basket, just in case? The result of this scenario was that while some people were able to fill a spare bedroom with copious amounts of supermarket stock, the more vulnerable members of the community were left without. Needless to say, this disparity was due to panic-buying and not due to disrupted supply chains. Other, everyday examples of the scarcity mindset include feelings of jealousy if a colleague receives praise and you don’t, trying to get ahead by bad-mouthing others, feeling happy when others fail, not sharing knowledge, time, money, and so on and feeling anxious and scared of losing what you have.
The scarcity mindset stems from fear and anxiety and leads to excess competition, jealousy, egocentric behaviour and a lack of community-minded behaviour. In evolutionary terms, a scarcity mindset had its advantages because it helped people with a lack of resources, such as shelter or food, to focus on what was important and filter out other needs and wants.
Nowadays, the idea of scarcity can also be effective. For instance, if you’re working on a project with a deadline, time is limited, meaning that resources need to be focused on meeting the deadline and sidelining all lesser priorities. In more general terms, however, a scarcity mindset refers to the attitude that there’s only so much to go around, whether it be love, success, relationships, happiness, money, praise, respect and so on. Adopting such an attitude has major implications in terms of behaviour, thought patterns and well-being.
So, how do we move from a scarcity mindset to one which is based on the idea that there is enough out there for everyone? Here are some ideas.
Focus on what you have
There will always be people who are smarter than you (sorry guys), have more qualifications than you or be able to sell themselves better than you. That doesn’t mean you’re not smart, capable or fortunate in your own way. Rather than focus on your shortcomings, focus on your strengths, capabilities and achievements. Is this setback a wake-up call to update your skills and training? What are the achievements to date that you are proud of?
Avoid comparisons
Rather than comparing yourself to others, why not compare yourself to who you were a year ago or three years ago? Contrary to what we’re often led to believe, life isn’t a competition. If we focused more on becoming better versions of ourselves rather than being better than others, we’d feel a lot more serene and satisfied with our lives.
Refrain from criticising or judging others
I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t ever feel angry or critical of people. What we need to be careful of, however, is the temptation to criticise or judge someone without trying to understand their position, or feeling resentful of people just because they have something we don’t, for example, a new job, more money, happy relationship, etc. When we think negatively about someone, we’re also in an internal state of negativity, draining our energy and making us feel miserable. If you try, instead, to be kinder to others, you’ll notice that you’ll not only feel better but give out positive vibes to those around you. Win-win!
Practise generosity
Clinging tightly to what you have and not giving to others only reinforces the attitude that there isn’t enough to go around. What if we tried being more generous of our time, energy and money without focusing on what we’d get in return? Numerous studies have shown that generosity enhances social connection and improves relationships, thus improving the well-being of the recipient and the giver (Aaker et al 2008; Abramson et al 2017).
Wish others well
When you feel jealous or resentful of someone, stop for a moment and remind yourself that there’s enough love/jobs/attention to go around and simply wish the other person well. In doing that, you’re moving from a position of fear and insecurity to one of generosity, confidence and positivity. It takes time and practice to master but I can assure you that the rewards are well worth the effort.
Work on your self-belief
Since the scarcity mindset is rooted in feelings of insecurity, feeling better about yourself and your abilities would make you less likely to feel scared and jealous when you see others succeed. This is a process of slowly accepting and loving yourself exactly as you are. Quite a tall order but really worth the time and hard personal work. If you know self-belief is a challenge for you, you may wish to seek the help of a psychotherapist or counsellor who can guide and support you through the process.
Psychotherapist Danjela Falzon works with clients suffering from anxiety and depression, relationship issues, sexuality, personality disorders, self-esteem issues and those wishing to work on self-development. She forms part of the team at TherapyWorks Clinic. For more information visit https://www.therapyworks.com.mt
Many cultural tourists would have noticed the Grand Masters’ Latin inscriptions and coat of arms on buildings, coins, medals, manuscripts and other printed material. For instance, usually Grandmasters had their coats of arms carved on buildings commissioned by them. But, few have ever wondered the meaning of heraldry and blazoning. This feature examines the roots of heraldry, the meaning of the symbolism behind heraldry with particular reference to the Kinghts Order of St John.
The Great Siege
The Great Siege of Malta (1565) is famous worldwide. It took place at a time when the Ottoman Empire was at its climatic point having taken over most of Eastern Europe.
After the Knights had been ousted from Rhodes in 1523, they settled in Malta in 1530. It was Emperor Charles V of Spain who gave the Maltese Islands as well as Tripoli to the Knights.
Malta became the centre for shipbuilding and repair of the Knights’ galleys and the base from which the Knights galleys sailed to raid the Ottoman naval forces between the narrows of Sicily and Africa. The success of these raids gave good reason for Soleyman the Magnificent (1490-1566), the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire to conclude that the only obstacle for his domination of the Mediterranean was the complete obliteration of the Knights of St John.
Despite the large Ottoman Armada, consisting of an overwhelming and superior force of some 200 galleys and 40,000 troops compared to the small defence army of some 9,000 men, including knights and local militia, (under the leadership of
Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Vallette), Malta proved to be an impregnable fortress and against all odds emerged victorious.
This heroic stand has been immortalized throughout the ages and celebrated in verse and histories as incidents and details of the siege were reproduced in many drawings and in no small manner in heraldry.
Grandmasters’ heraldry
There were 28 Grandmasters of the Order of St John in Malta. The first was Philippe Villiers de L’Isle Adam (French, 1530-1534) and the last being Ferdinand von Hompesch (German, 17971798).
An important aspect of the Grandmasters legacy is heraldry. The word “heraldry” is derived from the German heer − a host, an army − and held − a champion. Heraldry became increasingly important during the Middle Ages especially in the mid-12th century as families and armies created symbols by which one could easily identify families and lineages. The use continued to assume importance on the battlefield to identify princes and royalty on their armour.
The use and adoption of heraldry
enabled the Grandmasters and Knights to have an easy tool for their recognition by their followers, especially during battle. The coat of arms was hereditary in the same manner as a Knight inherited leadership rights.
Blazoning (display vividly or prominently)
According to Buke: Burke, Bernard, The General Armoury of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (Heritage Books, 1996), Inc., whenever a new Knight appeared at a Tournament, the herald sounded the trumpet and as the competitors attended with closed visors, it was his duty to explain the bearing of the shield or coat-armour belonging to each. This knowledge of the various devices and symbols was called Heraldry and as the announcement was accompanied with the sound of a trumpet, it was termed “blazoning the arms”.
According to The Oxford Guide to Heraldry by Thomas Woodcock and John Martin Robinson, the oldest documented example of a coat of arms borne on a shield is where King Henry I of England is said to have bestowed on his son-in-law, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, in 1127 AD the azure shield which bore four gold lions rampant.
The earliest coats of arms were fairly simple: bars or wavy lines, a lion rampant or an eagle displayed or an arrangement of fleur-de-lys. The designs became more complex as the years passed and the practice of quartering (incorporating the arms of other families acquired through marriages) developed.
Animals
Animals symbolised different qualities. So for instance:
Lions = bravery
Dogs = faithfulness, reliability Stags = wisdom and long life Eagles = power and nobility Hares = speed
Badgers = endurance or “hanging on”
Grandmasters coat of arms
The following is some information on the coat of arms of some of the Grandmasters of the Order of the Knights of St John:
The coat of arms of L’Isle-Adam (1533-34) was an extended right arm vested with ermine in a blue field with a maniple of the same, pendant in a gold field.
The coat of arms of Pietro di Ponte (Du Pont) (1534-35) was a red St Andrew’s cross in silver filed.
Didier De Sainte Jalle (1536). His arms were a silver goose on a golden field.
Juan D’Omedes (1536-53). He arms of d’Omedes were three towers in a red field, joined to a golden field with a green pine tree.
La Vallette (1557-1568). The arms of La Vallette were a silver falcon and a golden lion on a red field.
A.M. De Vilhena (1722-1736). The arms of Manoel were a red lion on a silver field but as his device was similar to that of Grandmaster La Cassiere, the arms of Vilhena, a golden winged right hand grasping a sword, on a red field, were later on, quartered with the Cross of the Order.
Indeed just as a picture tells a story, the coat of arms and heraldry can give a true testimony of the virtues they are meant to represent. Or else they could be just what they are; a bunch of symbols and colours coined up through mere imagination and frivolous vanity. The only way this can be judged is how the person/s carrying the standard performed in real life.
Still, the origins and their symbolic meaning of coats of arms became ever-increasingly popular and elaborate with the passage of time and still evoke curiosity and study in an effort to decipher the “hidden language” behind the symbolic design.
Artist and illustrator, RITA SALIBA, is the author of a number of children’s books. In 2011 she ventured into teen writing. She is three times winner of the National Competition for Young Adult literature which led to the publication of three teen novels. The author published three collections of stories between 2014 and 2018. Rita got addicted to writing very short fiction whilst doing some writing excercises to stimulate her grey cells. Her two collections of microfiction, Fuq Widnejn Torox u Stejjer Żbukkati Oħra and MittKelma were published in 2018 and 2020 respectively. Her first adult novel, O.B.E. was published in 2019. Her flexible personality soon adapted itself to the Covid-19 lockdown.
It’s been almost a year … staring at news portals announcing a deadly virus that was infecting thousands. Initially this news shocked us, not sure whether to believe it or otherwise, but images of lives in imminent danger kept flashing in front of our eyes leaving us completely baffled. We just knew we would soon be in that very same situation.
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I felt this great tension immediately; entering a surreal world of supermarkets suddenly filled with crowds pushing trolleys with stocks of toilet paper and preserves. My memory went back to when the Gulf war broke out and supermarket shelves were soon empty. I did not know what to fear most: an empty stomach or encountering this virus.
Social media burst with messages of uncertainty, poetry for reflection, photographs of people on ventilators and health workers wearing protective clothing from head to toe. Reality hit when my son, who works in the health sector, left home to find temporary alternative housing. My daughter who lives in England cancelled her trip to Malta. I hoped it wouldn’t be long before I could see my grandchildren again. Life changed overnight.
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I realised I had to adjust, too. In normal circumstances I would seek to isolate myself, away from everyone, with more time to think and write but soon enough I changed my mind. Being separated from close family and friends was hard. Luckily I managed to keep contact through technology. Some habits had to go, like meeting for coffee, attending seminars or book launches. All these became bygone experiences, and I was able to concentrate more on writing and other projects in the pipeline.
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One such project being the book of verse which is to be published in the coming months. Another project was Sagħtar, contributing with a monthly story as well as doing the illustrations. I had to cancel school visits. Nonetheless I conducted creative writing activities with students on video. I took part in online reading initiatives. Added to this was a good dose of reading of genres with which I am not too familiar.
Friends suggested good books to read and a new book found its way to my home almost every week.
In April I launched MittKelma, an anthology of one hundred microfiction stories. This was a challenge made by my publisher, Joseph Mizzi of Klabb Kotba Maltin – that of coming up with stories of only one hundred words. This challenge was made following the publication in 2018 of Fuq Widnejn Torox u Stejjer Żbukkati Oħra, a collection of stories of two hundred words each. MittKelma was launched online with the participation of three dear friends, Ken Scicluna, Rowena Calleja and Glen Calleja who prerecorded videos of themselves reading from the book.
My writing never stopped, or rather it never gave me any rest. Ideas kept flowing in with one story leading to another. I am currently in the process of editing another book of short stories, which is to be published this year.
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A beautiful break from writing is drawing and painting, even though at times they tend to provoke a thought, memory or idea for a new story. Sometimes I ended up having used all painting materials and I had to improvise. Necessity unleashes creativity. Once while painting a seascape, the paintbrush I was using was totally consumed. I found an old toothbrush and the frothy effect on the waves came out exactly as I wanted it.
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Online shopping not only left me with much more time on my hands for new projects but made me realise how many things I used to buy which were not really needed. The kitchen cupboards now close more easily. At times, brands I was used to buying were no longer available, but who cares, I tried out new ones. When I did not find yeast I searched on google how to cultivate fresh yeast. The first attempt was unsuccessful, but the second turned out well. As I saw air bubbles form in the jar, showing that
the yeast was alive, I could hardly resist shouting out loud. I fed the yeast every few hours, watching it ferment. I waited a week till it matured and baked my own bread, though I admit I was expecting too much here. Pizza turned out really delicious. I started inventing new recipes with all kinds of leftovers, transforming them into ‘healthy muffins’, ‘healthy snacks’ or ‘healthy desserts’. Now, that I think of it, I should start working on a recipe book.
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Spring was a time for long walks. With partial lockdown the air was cleaner and nature gained new life. I noticed more green patches in the countryside. Less traffic left a positive impact on the environment. Even the sea was clearer. These walks gave me moments to find myself, think up ideas to write about my family and friends who perhaps felt as I did. But I lived the moment in a world which was constantly changing.
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Someday the times we’re going through will go down in history. We will relate how we spoke from a distance, how we wore masks, followed the number of active Covid-19 cases, the hope of finding a vaccine ... but we will forget the clean air, the crystal clear sea and the dolphins that came to swim in our bays for a short while.