Community: Revive the Village

I woke up this morning with a loop in my head of Bob Marley singing, Gonna Be Alright (Three Birds).  I need his optimism since I received bad news yesterday.  One of my closest friends is very ill, and there is no way of knowing what will come today, tomorrow or the next.

Now I have a new perspective of what is and what is not important in life.  If we lived in Europe, the answer to that would be a no-brainer because they live on people-time.  The need for green and status in this country is so bad, that we have forgotten all the important things our parents and grandparents taught us.  Family, happiness and health.  I look around and see children without their parents after school, because we can't afford to live on one income.

It horrifies me, that our brothers and sisters who are ill, still need work to chase the morality-corrupter we call money.  It seems that if a person has less time on this Earth than the norm, they should rest and enjoy what they have now without judgment.

What has happened that we live in a world where people care less whether another human being lives or dies, as long as they get their money?  All of the leaders throughout the years that worked to make things better: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter were either killed or oppressed so much they died before their ideas took shape.

Having said all that, I still believe that we, as a nation, can rise to humanity and become the communities we once were.  The saying, "It takes a village..." came about because we were a village.  We took care of each other.  Take a lesson from our ancestors, and I know we will one day be the humanity we once were.

Fired? It's Not the End - It's a Beginning

Do you believe that all things happen for a reason? Whether, they're good or bad? I used to be skeptical, but now I am a firm believer that everything, no matter how bad it seems, happens with a purpose. Throughout my life, I spent hours upon hours fighting for a paycheck that would adequately take care of my family and not leave me sapped and too tired to speak. However, for more than 20 years, I've been one big ball of stress creating ailment after havoc-wreaking ailment. Consequently, I received major surgery in 2011 keeping me out of work for over two months. Once my doctor released me to return to work, a former supervisor contacted me about a clerical opening in her department. I happily took her up on the offer, since we had worked well together in the past. The organization's HR department contacted me to fill out paperwork and immediately begin working as a temporary employee. For a while, I loved the job and adjusted almost instantly. Yet six months later, one of the directors called me and my other team members into a meeting to tell us our supervisor is "no longer with the agency." The news crushed me, and I was immediately fearful of being fired, too. But, my interim supervisor assured me that was not the case. Then, the agency hired a new department head and she decided to change the structure of the department. She created new job descriptions for the team, with mine being second-to-last. The interim supervisor, along with the new department head, handed me the new criteria during my year-end evaluation. I immediately noticed the education requirements. The new requirements made me flinch, because I was no longer qualified for my job. I hold an Associate degree, and the new criteria indicated a Bachelor degree. Of course, I questioned this and they reassured me it didn't matter. From that day forward, my instincts kept nagging me that something wasn't right and I should leave. Yet, I continued working 50+ hours per week and weekends to keep up on my workload. Frustratingly, nothing ever seemed good enough. I perceived to get consistently yelled at or "talked to" by the new department head. I shared with the department head that I needed training, but the training she set up did not increase my skills within her expectations. So, I trudged on keeping up with the overwhelming demands. At one point, I stated I had the work of three people only receiving a minimal response. Stonewalled and heavy-hearted, Anxiety and Depression bombarded my very core. The ability to think straight eluded me and I became an insomniac. Constantly worried about tomorrow, I feared everything. Then, on February 3, 2014 everything came together. A dangerous snowstorm caused the agency to close for a day, then my car battery died due to the extreme cold conditions the next day. Already behind on my work and begging for help, I missed an assignment. Suddenly, a meeting popped up on my calendar for 12:30 that afternoon causing me to start packing up my belongings. Something in my mind knew today was the day. I prepared my husband by sending a text, then continued packing my things. At 12:30, I knocked on the door but the participating parties had not arrived yet. My supervisor asked me to wait 15 minutes and she would call. By 12:45, I was sitting in front of the department head, my supervisor and the director of HR who said, "My services are no longer needed." The department head sat there while my supervisor did all the talking. Once, the meeting was over the department head said, "I want you to know that we appreciate all of your effort and hard work." That only confirmed what I thought the moment my first supervisor was let go, "I will be next." However, I confidently share all that to say this is when I saw myself clearly for the first time in years. I realized what I wanted, and I didn't need to work for anyone. I imagined being a writer, working at home and spending more time with my daughter. Relief washed over me like a rain shower, compelling me to dance and sing. A horrible situation became the greatest thing that's ever happened. It's been over a month since they fired me, but now I work-at-home doing transcription while writing in my three blogs as often as possible. So, don't ever give up when things get tough because a better opportunity awaits you.