Did you ever feel like some sort of political dissident at work?  Like when you encourage a coworker to go home when she's sick or perhaps leave her desk for lunch or...gasp...call it a day at 5:00?

What's happening to us?

If you have a few moments, check out http://www.theenergyproject.com/events  There is a free webinar next week that may be of interest.  I first wandered on to this site when I saw a blurb somewhere about "taking back your lunch".  Woo-hoo!  I agree wholeheartedly with that.  I think going outside or somewhere, anywhere, besides your desk is good for the soul...which is good for the person...which is good for the job.  It just makes sense that recharging your battery for an hour in the middle of the day would be beneficial for everyone.

The premise behind all of this is that human beings are not machines.  We are not meant to function like machines.  We need more than fuel (money or power or prestige) to perform well.  We need the things that feed our spirit to maintain our happiness and our health.  Just like the finest German automobile needs more than gas.  If you run that thing out of oil or transmission fluid or radiator coolant, it doesn't matter that it has a full tank.  It ain't going anywhere for long.  And when you push it too hard, sometimes the damage can't be repaired.

This is what we do to ourselves when we stay late and come in early, skip our kids ballgames and postpone vacations.  The thing is, we WANT to be dedicated.  We WANT to love our jobs.  We just don't want our jobs to be ALL THERE IS.

Why do we allow ourselves to buy into that?  Why do we as employers perpetuate that thinking?  Why do we impose that on our people?  Who woke up one day and thought that it was a good idea?

Why do those of us who think it's time to stop all that nonsense feel like we have to skulk around in dark alleys peddling our ideas for a better life like crack dealers?

Life is good.  Work should be a way to express who we are...joyfully.

Take back your lunch, people.  Take back your ballgames and take back your vacations.  Take back your quiet evenings with the ones you love and take back your pride in your work.  Smile at your desk.  Answer the phone like you really DO want to talk with the person calling you.

If you can't do that, find somewhere that you can.

Kahlil Gibran wrote, "Work is love made visible." 

Do that.

Whistle while you work,

WS

A couple of evenings ago I was scanning my bookshelves for something to read before bed.  I was restless and tired - not a great combination - and was looking for something to bring my scattered thoughts back to the center so I could sleep.

I'm a big fan of Thomas Moore, a psychologist and former Catholic monk.  He writes about the soul, certainly not in the religious sense, but from the perspective of "soulfulness".  He writes of the mythical and spiritual in ways that are magic, yet applicable to real life.  His most well known work is "Care of the Soul". I would highly recommend it.

On this night, I selected "Dark Nights of the Soul - A Guide To Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals". 

In one part he wrote about the story of the man being swallowed by the fish - the Jonah story.  Don't worry - I'm not going all biblical on you.  This is one of those stories that shows up in mythology all over the world and the point of it is about when life circumstances swallow you up and take you for a ride.  The whale is in charge, not you, and you have little choice but to get as comfy as possible until he spits you out on some shoreline where you can finally take stock of where you are and what you'll do next.

This is the place where I am.  What I have influence over, I influence in the best way I can manage.  What I don't...well...I'm learning to stop worrying and fretting.  I'm trying to sit back and enjoy not being in charge for awhile.  Yes - it is very scary not knowing if I'll have a job in a month.  But it was scarier imagining staying in a job that was draining the life out of me.  Proverbial rock and hard place.  So I dove in the water...and quickly became whale fodder.

Truthfully, I have a sense that this is a friendly whale.  He doesn't want to eat me.  He just wants me to stop clinging to the familiar.

The belly of the whale really isn't that bad.  I just wish I had a window seat.

Kowabunga dude

WS

I've been gone for awhile.

In every way.

The last several months have picked me apart like crows picking at french fries discarded on an outdoor table at McDonald's.  So many things I believed to be true...weren't. 

Being picked apart...well...it's as if there is something written on every piece.  As it's pulled off of you, there is an opportunity to read what it says.  And there is time to consider the truth of it as it flys away.

My hard candy shell is gone.  Only the squishy melty part is left.  It's kind of scary to be squishy and melty...but it's better than being defined by a structure that isn't true.

Praying for peace and truth and love,

WS