I love the work I do. I have worked in human services, non-profit and governmental work for nearly twenty-five years. Working with adults, children, and families, I have often been saddened, hurt, surprised, and saw love all in the same day.
This Labor Day I wanted to give a huge shout out to people who help people. When you work directly with people, with the public, they often forget that you are also the people, the public. And that how you feel about your job is often how they feel about the job you are being asked to do.
There are often roadblocks and bureaucracy to just doing good. There are often long hours and long weeks. People in need do not stop being in need just because it is a holiday or even a weekend.
Those that do the people work know that you can go from working with one patient, resident, adult, child or family and as soon as you set them up for success, you go right to the next. It takes all the energy you have at the end of the day to give that same quality of care to your own families.
And you know why most people do these jobs? Because they know that if they can help one person, one family, they have potentially saved the lives of future generations.
Today, we find doing the job of service to humans, service to humanity has become one of the toughest jobs on the planet. While we are fighting against and trying to mitigate the risk of a pandemic with the Coronavirus, we are also now battling with hate. Hate speech, hate rhetoric, and hate from some of the most powerful people in our nation who also happen to be in jobs that are supposed to help people.
As we have “normalized” this rhetoric in the media, governments across the nation are trying to balance what we are hearing by “normalizing” love, kindness and protect your neighbors.
As parents, grandparents, and public servants some of us are exhausted. Some are questioning why they continue to serve.
What I am here to remind all of us public, human services servants is that we are advocates for the voiceless, the marginalized and the disenfranchised. What I am here to remind you is that hate never wins…but love wins always. What I am here to remind you is that hate is a monetized business…think those who are showing up at protest and why war is such a big business.
I am here to remind you that confident personal leadership at work and home, the practice of honoring all people, can and will change the consciousness of this nation.
Today, our jobs as public human services, non-profit and governmental workers is to protect the generations that come after us from hate. Our job is to remember that what we do matters for humanity.
Today, I am here to remind you to “Let Not Your Labor Be in Vain!”
“And That’s A Brilliant Glimpse of Insight!”