Be there

Lots of people say that life is a gift and they are right. Not everybody knows that for some people each day of their life seems like a burden. Also for some people their overall life is fine (or may seem to be fine) until they come to a junction of crossroads when they do not understand which way to go. Only survivors of an attempted suicide may discuss what lead them down that road. Sometimes it is too late and we all wonder about what it was that forced someone to commit the unimaginable. It will be really nice if each one of us has someone we can talk to in case of a difficult situation. I pray for the day when all parents know the hardships of their children no matter how old they are. It will be really nice to know if your coworkers are going through hard times emotionally or a student of yours seems to be hurting so you can say a few reassuring words to them. The National Suicide Prevention week is about to end. Yesterday was World Suicide Prevention Day so let us give this problem a thought and not forget that the rest of the year is as important to remember to be kind to those who seem to be going through a turmoil. It is not easy to read people's minds and especially if people are too proud or shy and lonely they may not be comfortable with talking to you, but as they begin to feel that you can be trusted and are helpful, they may talk to you. We are not counselors and not everyone can afford one and a lot of times the need is not recognized for a long time. A very young coworker of mine was lucky enough to help out her brother-in-law who was hurting from his parent's divorce. However, I was not as lucky to save a friend of mine who did not want to go through the everyday agony of watching her parents fight. In college I took it for granted that suicide is a sin and did not realize that some people are hurting too much to think straight. So let us all get to know people around us and let people get to know us.

School Days !

Before I took this new job working as a vendor I wondered how I would do because working at my previous position as an auditor was kind of different. My old job gave me a lot of confidence and I thought that I might get a little nervous with the new job. Turns out that I am not at all nervous with my new job either. The thing is at age sixty five, most people are quite confident at their jobs. However things are different with younger people. I see a lot of young people who are shy. A lot of young people are nervous and will not look you in the eye. A lot of young people are stressed out with the thought of their supervisor watching them. Then you have a handful of the feisty type who will not do their job and still have the guts to flirt with the supervisor and get away with extra long breaks.  My heart goes out for the shy, hardworking young people who lack confidence even to ask for a break and never get appreciated. Then I wonder what could have happened in their early life that made them too shy to ask for their rights even. When I was younger some people asked me about how I became a people person and why I am not shy. My boss at my previous job (who has double MBA) asked me for tips to be confident. I do not have an answer as I have never studied human psychology. The only answer I might come up with is the fact that my parents loved all of us and told us that we are no less than anyone and as long as we are honest and hardworking we do not have to be afraid of anyone. As my parents were always feeling bad about not giving us what my uncles and aunties could give their children, they had decided to give us the best care any parent could ever give. They gave us a lot of love and told us that we are no less than anyone and even without the best things to wear they said that we looked very smart because we were. I remember my father said that we were his wealth and we were his treasure. When I went to school I remembered his words during class and those words made me feel good about myself. His words always helped me feel good and it reflected in my behavior. I think to each of us our children are a treasure but we forget to tell them that. In America people give their children a lot of nice things but that does not mean that we should not give them words to boost their confidence. Letting them know how much we love them and how much they can count on us to be able to tell us everything they want to tell us will give them a sense of safety and that can translate into confidence. Some people think that going to a progressive private school made us socially confident, I still think that the loving words from my parents were the key factor.