Online Friendships/Social Networking

I know, I know, I am totally out of the norm... not posting last Friday (I was spending the day with the incredible Susan Mankita, L.C.S.W.) and today isn't Friday, but I really had the urge to update now, so forgive my being 6 days late or 1 day early, depending how you look at it. I've just been so recently majorly impacted by social networking that I couldn't help but come to this networking site and write about it.

Saturday night, my dog had an emergency and it began a 3 day whirlwind of panic and fear for me as he spent the days in the ICU. Every bit of my energy and every bit of my strength was being telepathically sent to him. My days were filled with calls to the vet, visits to see him and to put my hand into his incubator cage and nights were filled with sheer terror at the very real possibility I'd lose him.

I can truly say that the only thing that held me together was the world through the internet. A breed specific website I'd joined when I rescued him gave me comments of hope and well wishes with folks from everywhere checking in for my updates. Emails came from those who had heard about the situation. Most of all, facebook allowed me to spend my hours typing with people who loved and supported me during a time when I was too afraid to speak the words but when I needed others more than I could articulate.

I got lucky, very very lucky. Nikko rallied and got to come home. But I was also incredibly lucky to have been held up by incredibly supportive people.

Please please keep in mind how helpful the internet can be in trying times. Although it's known for being full of porn and useless videos of kittens and celebrity gossip, it is also a place to reach out and a place to reach back. With the holidays here, please remember to ask for the emotional support you need and to give the extra you may have, it truly can change (or save) someone's life.

Your Dream Job

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2011/08/18/2011-08-18_how_to_find_time_to_pursue_your_dream_job_while_making_the_money_in_order_to_sup.html

I just finished reading this article, “How to find time to pursue your dream job while making money in order to support it” by Carolyn Kepcher, a major force in the business world and famous for being on “The Apprentice” as a judge with Donald Trump.

It has me thinking about us and about how much our jobs are what we want and how much is what we feel forced to settle for. It’s tough not to be realistic; the government pays us very very little for doing our jobs well, which will save them a ton a ton of money. Our budgets continue to get cut so jobs are tough to find and it’s tough not to just feel grateful to be offered a job at all in this economy. We’re told every day to do more with less and suddenly, working with a coworker you don’t absolutely hate or actually getting a 12 minute lunch break almost feels like a dream.

But what was your dream job before you took your first job? Before your first internship? Before you were snapped into the realities of this field? Did you hope to change your community? Did you want to become a supervisor? Maybe we can’t have every bit of what we wanted when we were too naïve to understand the realities of this profession, but maybe we can work together to find ways to help each other achieve at least some piece of that initial dream. Maybe it’s too broad a goal to change your community, but maybe you can schedule a volunteer time to help clean up the local park. Maybe politics or the economy or a million other things mean a rough road to becoming a supervisor in your company, but you can supervise interns from a nearby university. Maybe you can mentor a new social worker or supervise kids in an after-hours program at the nearby youth center.

Maybe there’s something you can do to help others find a way to incorporate a piece of their dream and somehow find a piece of yours in the process. The only way to know is to try!

Trusting the Process

JUST WHEN I THINK I AM SITUATED AT MY FIELD PRACTICUM, something changes. I have been in four different "spaces," so far this semester, and I am currently back in the first office where it all began last term.

I believe I'm being offered some huge life lessons about flexibility, and going with the flow, and being a team player. And, I am digging it. There is something about the uncertainty of each day that is, ironically, helping to keep me balanced.

Yeah, I don't get it, either.

I sometimes get caught up in my need for structure. This experience is showing me how strong I can be when it comes to jumping in and doing "the deal," as it is sometimes called in 12-step circles. It basically refers to the act of doing the "next right thing," which means staying clean and sober, as well as choosing the healthiest, kindest, most loving way of being in the world.

I'm not saying that it's always easy. And, I do feel bedraggled at times, and I get befuddled. I am learning stuff really quickly due to the volatility of the agency.

And, it feels good.

I am rolling my sleeves up and helping out. And, I'm not whining or complaining about doing the work.

I feel alive. And, you know, I think the world really needs us to come alive.

~Ms. T. J.