I prepare for reunion with old friends, fretting as departure draws near. Have I time to shed five pounds? Whiten my teeth? Score the perfect outfit? Maybe, but it’s the appearance of my job that bothers me most.
My job of many years falls short on inspiration, long on tedium. It’s full of task and empty of meaning. I reside at the low end of the power-ladder and have never been promoted. Early on I look for other employment but, each time, opportunity fails to develop. Gradually, I accept that Life does not want me to leave, but to stay.
Success demands I face shadowy parts of myself: arrogance, entitlement, resentment, impatience. I discover that in bending to the job’s requirements, my ego is slowly dethroned.
Inch by inch I transform … from critic to contributor, complainer to cheerleader, prima donna to work horse. Boredom yields to a creative life and compassion for people at both ends of the power-ladder grows.
I turn to an old poem on spiritual paradox and trust my friends will see what I now know:
Prayer of the Unknown Confederate Soldier
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve; I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things; I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy; I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life; I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all people, most richly blessed.