Life is
full of loss… The death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, the dying of
a dream, in my case the loss of a job. This
week, I, along with most of my company was laid off because the company is
relocating to Texas. I got a sixty day
notice to abandon ship. During the mass
layoff as I witnessed the different reactions from my team, I saw that the
commonality was a sense of devaluation.
People who have dedicated a lifetime to my company felt easily disposed
of. While the CEO kept stating that he
was doing what was best for the company, the people that make up the
corporation didn’t agree with his assessment.
Which made me think of Pope Francis and the many times he’s asked us to
remember that behind each structure there are people. Upper management is looking at increasing
revenue by moving to a state where rents are cheaper and deleting high salaries
of employees who have dedicated many years to the company. To the CEO the company is money and acquiring
more of it means success. Sadly, taking
care of the people that invested so much to the company is no longer a concern
in the for profit sector. As Pope
Francis has many times said we live in a “throwaway” culture where society
quite easily discards people. My
coworker, a new mom of two, kept angrily asking “why?” I tried to explain to her how it wasn’t
personal it was just a monetary strategy taking precedence over the welfare of
people. “It’s the system that is messed
up not you,” I told her.
Then I got
home and had a glass wine and wondered why I was so at peace, knowing that in
sixty days I would be without a job? I
sat in my garden in silence for many hours, prayed a rosary and read the life
of Saint Francis of Assisi. The thing is
that I have been here before. This
territory has been well-traveled by me.
I know what it’s like to be without work; the uncertainty, the fears and
the monetary constraints- even the emotional lows and insecurity that come like
waves to challenge the already bruised ego.
Was my peace due to shock? A temporary
feeling that would leave as soon as the reality of the layoff hit? Or was it
God given?
I woke up
the next morning equally calm, but noticed that during this whole process I have
found so much comfort in the words of Pope Francis. I have begun expressing my way of fighting
this “throwaway” culture by featuring some of my shopping habits and reusing
practices on here. My focus has been on
the material waste that I see in my community and my personal fight against
it. Now, I am experiencing another type
of waste that of discarding people as if they were easily replaceable things. I thought of my coworker’s shock in
understanding that the goal of businesses today is more concerned with making profit
then with the needs of its people. And I
realized that I wasn’t angry or shocked because thanks to Pope Francis I have
long been aware of the path that society is heading into. Having a foundation in a faith that tells me
that I am worthy not because of the job that I have or lack thereof; but,
because I am made in the image and likeness of God gives me peace. Stripping me of a job-title and occupation
doesn’t make me less me. I have been
without a job in a worse state of mind and God got me through it! This is a time to once again place my trust
in Him and to persevere in prayer singing, “Jesus, I trust in you.” Every end brings an opportunity for a new
beginning, and what is life without a bit of adventure? Nevertheless, please keep me in your prayers so that I will soon find employment.
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