Necessary Losses and New Beginnings (...89 days)

Today is Easter Sunday, a day that signifies the end of the forty-day fasting period, Lent.  Among other things, of course.  I like the Easter holiday celebration.  Easter Mass is joyful, there's hearty food for brunch, colorful flowers, colorful outfits, egg-dying, baskets of chocolate, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire...

Ironically, I feel like my fasting period is just beginning.  I get that this sounds cliche, but I'm not referring to reducing my expenses.  I'm thinking about the period of time I'm facing, without a job, to examine my next step.  It's making me intensely focused on what I want to be do for work and how to do it.  Intense focus and meditation is partially the purpose of a fast because when you're doing "without" your thoughts tend to turn inward.

I found great comfort in today's Easter Mass homily.  At St. Cecelia's Parish in Boston, Father Unni, a priest who seems like he's right out of Southie, (who I adore, who is authentic and funny, and who I wish all my friends could hear preach) talked about loss and new beginnings.  I can't relay his entire sermon here (not because I have limited space to write, but because I was 30 minutes late to mass), but I have to share the two ideas on which his homily was based.  The ideas are simple and Father Unni gave his sources:

"Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow"
-The title of a book by Judith Viorst

and

"All beginnings are hard."
-A translation of Hebrew often referred to in Rabbinic literature, according to Rabbi Arthur Segal.

What I took from this is pretty straightforward:  The loss I'm undergoing now is necessary to make way for the growth I need to experience.  It is often tough, weather it's a job or something else you've been holding on to, to let go.  And beginnings are hard.  The first steps are often uncertain until we do a lot of self reflection.  Appropriate message for Easter.  Also appropriate for me and probably for many others who are making life adjustments.

Layoff Talk (...95 days)

Coffee Talk Layoff Talk with Linda Richman  Lisa O’Malley: Welcome to Layoff Talk I'm your host Mary. On this show we talk about layoffs, Bahston, pahties, and the red sahx, you know no big whoop just Layoff Talk.

Since being laid off three days ago, I’ve heard nothing but others’ talk about being laid off.  Among my group of family and friends I know at least 9 people who have been laid off at some point in their careers.  I think this used to be the worst thing that ever happened in people’s careers, but now it seems commonplace.  In fact, most people I talk to don’t act shocked.  Friends are concerned and offer to be a resource, but they view it as more of an opportunity than a burden.  Their positive layoff experiences are encouraging to me.

I read this recently at http://workstrategies.com/laidoff.html

“Studies show that most people who have gotten laid off, move on to other opportunities and report (after one year) that they are happy it happened and that they have found themselves in a much more fulfilling work situation.”

That’s wicked good news!!