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Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Welcome to the first “leap month” of this newsletter! As I announced in last month’s issue, I will begin to write new articles every other month, using the off month to respond to questions and comments from past articles and suggest ideas in preparation for those upcoming.

For those who did not get a chance to read last month’s issue entitled, Bringing Qualities of Soul to Everyday Life and Work, follow the link below.

~ Denise

“Denise, thanks for the great article about soul! Any ideas to share with folks who are in the throes of a stressful job search for keeping the “inner light” on? It is so much easier for their spirits to sink low in dread and despair than to keep themselves hopeful and optimistic. I work in a welfare-to-work program. Any thoughts? Thanks!”

- Employment Specialist, Houston, Texas

We can all relate to the challenge posed by this great question. I doubt there is a single reader who, like me, does not find him/herself swaying from the hopeful feelings that arise from thoughts of abundance to feelings of worry and despair that arise from thoughts of scarcity and lack. In response, I am reminded of the Native American story I shared in a previous issue of this newsletter about the child who confided in his grandfather that he heard the voices of two competing wolves within him. One wolf was full of fear and anger and saw only the bad and ugly in the world. The other wolf was full of hope and love and saw the good and beautiful in the world. The child asked, “Which of these wolves, dear Grandfather, will win?” The elder lovingly responded, “The one you feed, my child. The one you feed.”

During times when fear and dread turn up at the backdoor howling, we need to invite hopefulness and optimism to the table, by consciously turning our attention to our blessings, our possibilities, and our gifts. I designed an activity entitled “Food for the Soul”, (Course 4 - Cultivating True Livelihood) in which I suggest that it is equally important to give job seekers daily assignments that raise their spirits and feed their hope as it is to assign them actual job search activities such as doing employer research, going on informational interviews, sending resumes or making in-person employer contacts. In Food for the Soul, I offer a list of suggestions for assignments in the following categories:

1. Spending some time in nature for the peace and perspective it lends, even if just a short walk in a nearby park or a stroll under the stars before bed;

2. Reaching out to family, neighbors and friends so as to resist the turtle affect that unemployment can have on one’s spirit;

3. Engaging in some kind of creative activity such as cooking, gardening, painting, etc, which puts us in the right brain – the place of possibility thinking;

4. Getting out of the box and doing something out of the ordinary in order to stretch our risk-taking muscles, such as attending a church other than our own or learning something new;

5. Committing to a regular regimen of some kind of exercise for the benefits it brings physically, mentally and emotionally;

6. Extending a hand and offering to help someone less fortunate so as to feel useful, connected to community, and grateful for one’s own blessings.

7. Keeping good eating, sleeping and working (job search) habits so as to maintain energy and a general feeling of balance.

In other words, while it is not easy to simply “think” ourselves out of despair and into hopefulness, we can engage in activities that feed our sense of power, hope and possibility!

In celebration of these last days of summer, I am repeating the poem I selected two summers ago for this newsletter written by the always stunning poet, Mary Oliver. Enjoy!
 

Read through the list above and identify one of the categories that speaks to your own need for renewal, making a commitment to invest time, energy and attention to that area of your life during the following month. See what it does to feed your spirit!

Use the list above with individuals you serve, allowing them to commit to areas that they know would benefit them during their job search.

Thinking about those you serve and your own experience in the work world, what do you think contributes most to a person’s sense of satisfaction on the job? (Please keep your responses to 100 words or less.)

Denise has published several important works on topics of job development, career development, personal development and similar topics. She also has two video-based in-service training programs available. Please visit our online store, Diversity Shop, for more information on these and related products.

SEPTEMBER: Shrewsbury, MA * St. Paul, MN * New Britain, CT * Boston, MA * Visalia, CA

OCTOBER: Galesburg, IL * Rochester, NY * Santa Cruz, CA * Fairfax, VA * Albuquerque, NM * Lethbridge, AB * Bozeman, MT

NOVEMBER: Oklahoma City, OK * Los Angeles, CA * Waterford, MI * Fargo, ND * Fredericton, NB

Previous editions of the "True Livelihood Newsletter" are archived on our website.

Click her to see archived editions of D-NET...
 

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