Blanket Statements

I just read one of my favorite blogs, Hootenannie, and was struck by something she wrote. Aside from the enjoyable list of why Pinocchio is the worst movie ever (agreed) it was her "plan or lack thereof" entry that gave me pause.

Recently she was let go from her job, I think all of us on some level have been singed by the boiling ball of America's economic blunders. The constant questioning is exhausting. How will I make ends meet? When will I get another job? What do I do while I wait for another job to come around? My husband and I just rode this merry-go-round for two months before we got some relief, and a new job came through.

I went to a neighbor's house last night for some red wine and steak (which I actually ate, since there was no other option....I haven't had red meat in like.... well wait does beef jerky count?) anyway, we were by far the youngest people there, with the average age being 50 but, we got in where we fit in and had a great time.

I got in a conversation with a gentleman who had some thoughts on our present state as a nation, particularly the job market. He was convinced that it would get worse, especially for the older generation, since there is a smaller margin of jobs and more people trying to get them. He said that small business owners are the ones who are getting hit the hardest since there is no bail out plan for the less than corporate. True.

In the middle of that conversation, another one of his friends came over and said that the nation is going under and that he was glad he had just bought an AK-47 for when the war breaks out in the streets. For some reason he thought that Detroit would be the first place that the interpersonal dis-United States brawl would bust out. I just chewed my steak.

And then another voice chimed in from across the table, one of the chaps that I was most fond of, and he said "You know maybe I am an eternal optimist, to the point of foolishness, but you have to get up and go on. If you don't fight for a good life, what is there to live for? It will get better in time, and while we are waiting for that we should just enjoy nice nights like these and be thankful that we will make it through."

I swallowed my steak and murmured my agreement.

The thing is that this isn't an economic issue. It's a point of view issue. Each one of those men are dealing with the same problem but are approaching it from varying points of view. The reason that I was inspired to write this after reading Hootenannie was because of this line:
After being let go she said, "I have felt a burden lifted – a heavy weight that I didn’t recognize was there, since I was too busy convincing myself to be grateful for a job at all. But once I walked out of those heavy glass doors, box of possessions in hand, I felt it: I could breathe."

Talk about a refreshing point of view.

No matter if you have a job, no job or want to get out of your job, its your point of view that is going to say how successful or unsuccessful you really are. Our jobs don't define us, however our frame of mind sure does change how we view the world.

PS- The title of this blog has nothing to do with the content, I just love the phrase "blanket statements"