Survivor Guilt...

In any natural disaster it is hard to look away when faced with news stories that show you the tragedy... the fear and sadness of those that survived.  I always wonder... if faced with a situation like that, how  do you live with being lucky to survive while someone else loses everything?  How do you put all of that behind you and move on... How do you accept that there is a plan for everything and everyone, and it does not always make any logical sense?  How do you leave behind your own guilt?

We live in uncertain times... a few weeks ago the company I work for downsized and people in a number of departments and regions lost their jobs.  Unlike a natural disaster, most of us could feel it coming... For quite some time there had been speculation and uncertainty about who, how, when... And even knowing it was likely... it still felt shocking and hard to believe when it actually happened.  Some of my very closest friends were involved...people I have worked with a long time, good friends of mine who are more to me than just fellow colleagues.  It still seems unreal to me...

Similar to a natural disaster, I am amazed at the strength and resilience in people.  I have spent time with a number of people impacted... they are such a lesson to me about positive thinking and self-confidence and faith in destiny.  While I have struggled with how to deal with an odd combination of remorse and relief, they are taking the event in stride and moving forward... they actually seem better for having made it through and then been forced to take a hard look at what their job means to them and what the next step on their path should be.  Sometimes being forced into a change gives you the opportunity to re-evaluate the journey that you have been on... The possibilities for what comes next are limitless.

I have learned another valuable lesson... I am thankful for the job that I have, the colleagues that I spend each and every day with.  But I also realize that the world is a big place and there are lots of great places to work...there really IS more beyond the walls of this one institution.  Opportunity is around every corner...