“Just” a Job

I’m not here to talk about my personal occupational woes. Not that I don’t have a thing or two to say about getting half the pay for the same amount of work others do, receiving no benefits, all while having little time off and raising a family.

Rather, within the last five days, I’ve walked alongside two friends as they’ve experienced job losses.

I’m not going to stand by their side and tell them it’s no big deal, when…

they’ve given up attending celebrations, parties, vacations, other fun stuff,

spending time with loved ones,

investing in life’s more meaningful endeavors,

because they chose to commit all they had, and more, to the work,

to employers that promised to offer compensation for the dedicated application of expertise and effort.

I’ve seen these friends, these individuals, overextend themselves

to the point of exhaustion, stress, and anxiety, and,

for sure, supererogatory diligence.

But, their efforts haven’t been valued or rewarded.

Not when they’ve been let go for self-aggrandizing or monetary motivations.

***

However, here I stand,

by their side,

and walking alongside them,

assuring them

they’re neither defined by that work that is now past

nor appreciated fully for who they are.

They are not defined by those jobs,

life has more to offer than those employers do,

and, at the end of the day,

that was just a job.

It is now a relic of the past

that is dead and buried,

but these people,

these wonderful beings,

are not.