I went to the lent book discussion group tonight which was attended solely by myself, Kyle and Jim. It quickly degenerated (in the best possible way) into a theological discussion and our observations of the condition of the church in the world. It was great, I need more of those in my life.
Tomorrow I'm going into work an hour early (7:30!!!) to help plow through some paperwork. Sure I'll get paid for the hour but I'm not sure the lack of sleep and extra effort is really worth the £6.50 I will receive for it - I think hours before 11am should be paid double time...or at least time and a half. I'm really only doing it to help them out.
I'm enjoying temping so far...I still come home tired at the end of the day, but at least I'm not sweating profusely and emotionally in tatters. It's nice to retain a semblance of myself after. Today I spent almost half the day doing change of addresses, which is exactly what it sounds like: I open up the database and delete the old address and replace it with the new one, check it off the list and move on. It would be better if I could listen to music while I work, but I don't want to push my luck yet.
As for the ladies in my department, well, they're mostly friendly but in a way I feel really sad for them. There's 4 or 5 of them and they've all got to be in their 40's or older and it's obvious that their job is their life. They gossip about other staff members and complain when they get more work and when the systems go down and generally act like if they weren't around to hold things together the entire universe would implode upon itself. And I think part of the reason I can say this is because I'm just a temp with no real responisibility or pressure and so there's not much for me to stress over, but honestly, these people are working in the financial department of an office, it's not like they're fighting injustice or negotiating world peace.
Maybe I'm just an arrogant, idealistic kid (well, no maybe about it) but I really want to make a difference in this world with my life. Which isn't to say that you can't make a difference from an office, there are certainly many people who do. But if I'm doing what they do when I get to that age, please folks, just put me out of my misery.
PS: I feel the growing desire to watch Office Space again...
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3 comments:
One of the reasons I liked working at the library so much is that we didn't take ourselves nearly so seriously.
So I work with some of the same people on another continent. Since they run the payroll and keep the organization with light and heat by paying the bills, we do value them in their own way.
What I know about the 7 ladies and one younger man in our office is that they also field calls from home throughout the day. The difference they are making includes being the only income earner for a single-parent family, caring for children and grand-children with myriads of issues, being the only support for an elderly parent, handling a major illness themself, and one works two other jobs to keep it all together.
You were partly right about their lives being their jobs but only while they are at work :). When they leave each day, they switch fully to their other lives/jobs.
They only got as far in their education as would allow them to do this work. That's all most of them wanted or at least that is what they settled for in their cirmstances.
Now that isn't to say that I think they are 'being' all they could be for this world. I dream of them putting their energy into caring more for the troubled families we serve at work or into building community or into caring about the rest of the world.
On the otherhand, they are now living up to much of their potential in their work lives and are needed for these basic jobs and I for one am glad they are doing them because otherwise I'd have to do that as well.
What you have so rightly discerned is that when you are blessed with more capacity and more opportunity, you should learn as much from them as possible, even how to appreciate them and their circumstances, and then soar well beyond in your evolvement as a human being.
Educate yourself, learn about leadership, continue to live as simply and humbly as possible, all the while doing whatever you can to build up others and care for others in ways that no-one else has thought of or is willing to do. Take risks and grow. Soar on wings like eagles. Be willing to say "Here I am. Send me". Isaiah 6:9 Now the true challenge is what big difference could you make in their lives while you are there! How can you serve them welll?
Linda said...
"We seldom realize fully that we are sent to fulfill God-given tasks. We act as if we were simply dropped down in creation and have to decide to entertain ourselves until we die.
But we were sent into the world by God just as Jesus was. Once we start living with that conviction, we will soon know what we were sent to do." Henri Nouwen
12:44 PM
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