Ups & Downs in Employment

I not been "gainfully employed" since June. I guess that makes me one of the statistics we hear about on the nightly news. I have been through the whole gamut of emotions about it. My job loss was through no real fault of my own, but the loss did sting nonetheless. My bruised ego cried out angrily about the unfairness of having devoted myself to pulling off what I considered to be a tour de force for the employer who had given me a nearly impossible task with more-than-limited resources and no visible means of support for performing to the high level of expectations. Merely surviving without quitting would have been impressive, and I did more than that, but it wasn't enough.

It hurts when your best efforts are not enough. I'd say that is an idea that many of us are realizing the truth about, these days. Our best efforts to get a job that will enable life above the poverty level are not enough. Our communities' best efforts to attract industry and jobs are not enough. Our best efforts to balance the budget are not enough. Our best efforts to elect responsible leadership with real ideas for change, not just rhetoric, are not enough. We feel our failures more now than ever before. The truth hurts. I hurt.

What can we do? What can I do? We can refuse to wallow in self-pity and realize how responsible "self" as in "selfishness" is for our whole dilemma. We the people have allowed ourselves to honor and elevate selfishness to an art form, and that is a serious character flaw. We must become convicted of our selfishness that shows up as a love of laziness, and an attitude of everything being about us. We can begin to ask what we can do to serve others, and we can vote for change. I can serve others while looking for a decent job. My service will be appreciated and I will be able to ease some of the smarting in my ego. I will feel needed again, valued again. It won't hurt as much the next time I try for a job and am told that my master's degree makes me overqualified.

Serving others may not help eliminate my unemployment, help my financial status, or fix the country's economy, but it would be a start, and it couldn't hurt. I will stop valuing laziness and selfishness. I will vow to do as many productive things each day as I can, even if it is picking up trash, or cleaning my house, or volunteering at a senior center or school. I will serve through as many different avenues as I can, and I will appreciate the experiences provided.

Voting for change may not fix all the problems, but if we keep voting for change every time until we get the right kind of change, we will eventually get the message across that no matter how slick the political ad, no matter how smooth the talker, no matter what race or gender, our leaders MUST be responsible and govern with COMMON SENSE instead of selfishness which causes them to vote for whatever is stroking their ego or fattening their campaign coffers.

Tonight I will go to bed early so I can rise to serve in my church on Sunday, and in my community on Monday; and come election day, I will serve to elect real change in every office for which I can vote. I believe that the current officeholders are "overqualified" to serve in the current economic disaster, and must be eliminated from their offices for the good of the economy and the country.