Tuesday is the start of my working week---I'm heading off to the thrift store as soon as I finish this cup of coffee.
I feel pretty well positioned at work these days.
I pushed hard, inviting the boss(es) to consider fundraising for the store, trying to lure them with the possibility that It Could Be Different.
But--what's the term for when everything comes together seemingly effortlessly?
The ease that causes wonder?
That.
That didn't happen.
What happened was more like almost catching a fish.... it nibbles, and then slips away.
I don't know. Things that don't happen right away, sometimes they happen later, in surprising ways.
And sometimes they don't happen at all.
At any rate, I've decided to let it go for now, and I feel fine with that.
No point splashing down the river, chasing fish--you just scare them away. I was on the point of pushing too hard.
The culture at work––I keep saying this––is foreign to me.
It's a blend Christianity + poverty, so there's this wonderful, hopeful sense that "God will provide",
but almost none of the Purposeful Planning that's a given in my middle-class world.
That works pretty well---up to a point.
God does provide dish soap when you run out,
. . . or, someone does:
it gets donated, or someone brings it in from home, or, eventually, the boss goes and gets a bottle at the Dollar Store.
But the energy expended, over and over, on these little things means you don't have the energy for other things.
It's tied up with every day having to scramble for supplies.
The idea that things could be different, and that YOU can make that happen––well, that's not been my coworker's life experience!
A lot of my coworkers--(and they say this)--are grateful to be alive.
"How are you?" I ask.
One guy always says,
"I'm blessed. I woke up this morning."
That's not a cute platitude for him.
So I am going to watch and learn. Settle down into the mud of the riverbank and watch the fish. NOT with the intention of changing them. How might I change? Deepen and quiet?
Having said that, I am going to keep trying to change what is changeable at the store, right in front of me.
My biggest success (besides the bookshelves) has been putting a wastebasket in the women's bathroom, right by the toilet.
The only trashcan had been across the room, on the other side of the sink.
It's still there.
I stuck a plastic bag in a big metal bucket--a kids' beach toy--and hey,
now there's less trash on the floor!!!
Also, I have invited my boss and a board member/volunteer on a field trip this Friday.
We're going to go visit the newly reopened Steeple People--the thrift store where I got my start volunteering in thrift, 2013-2016.
They had to close because of development (city's doing a lot of building)--just two days ago they reopened with a new name, in a new place!
"Competition is good for innovation." So says Forbes, in an article I sent my boss. Maybe we could get some ideas about merchandise layout, or... who knows?
I feel pretty well positioned at work these days.
I pushed hard, inviting the boss(es) to consider fundraising for the store, trying to lure them with the possibility that It Could Be Different.
But--what's the term for when everything comes together seemingly effortlessly?
The ease that causes wonder?
That.
That didn't happen.
What happened was more like almost catching a fish.... it nibbles, and then slips away.
I don't know. Things that don't happen right away, sometimes they happen later, in surprising ways.
And sometimes they don't happen at all.
At any rate, I've decided to let it go for now, and I feel fine with that.
No point splashing down the river, chasing fish--you just scare them away. I was on the point of pushing too hard.
The culture at work––I keep saying this––is foreign to me.
It's a blend Christianity + poverty, so there's this wonderful, hopeful sense that "God will provide",
but almost none of the Purposeful Planning that's a given in my middle-class world.
That works pretty well---up to a point.
God does provide dish soap when you run out,
. . . or, someone does:
it gets donated, or someone brings it in from home, or, eventually, the boss goes and gets a bottle at the Dollar Store.
But the energy expended, over and over, on these little things means you don't have the energy for other things.
It's tied up with every day having to scramble for supplies.
The idea that things could be different, and that YOU can make that happen––well, that's not been my coworker's life experience!
A lot of my coworkers--(and they say this)--are grateful to be alive.
"How are you?" I ask.
One guy always says,
"I'm blessed. I woke up this morning."
That's not a cute platitude for him.
So I am going to watch and learn. Settle down into the mud of the riverbank and watch the fish. NOT with the intention of changing them. How might I change? Deepen and quiet?
Having said that, I am going to keep trying to change what is changeable at the store, right in front of me.
My biggest success (besides the bookshelves) has been putting a wastebasket in the women's bathroom, right by the toilet.
The only trashcan had been across the room, on the other side of the sink.
It's still there.
I stuck a plastic bag in a big metal bucket--a kids' beach toy--and hey,
now there's less trash on the floor!!!
Also, I have invited my boss and a board member/volunteer on a field trip this Friday.
We're going to go visit the newly reopened Steeple People--the thrift store where I got my start volunteering in thrift, 2013-2016.
They had to close because of development (city's doing a lot of building)--just two days ago they reopened with a new name, in a new place!
"Competition is good for innovation." So says Forbes, in an article I sent my boss. Maybe we could get some ideas about merchandise layout, or... who knows?
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