Now 28 days since I last worked for pay, I am finding somewhat of a routine to be evolving. I get up early in the morning, say between 5:30 and 6:30AM, get washed up and then come in and turn on my computer. I get some tea, water and even sometimes Diet Coke, settle down in front of the screen and keyboard and begin my day in earnest. First stop, e-mail. Did I receive mail from anybody I care to receive correspondence from? The e-mail system seems to be serving the role of life line for me. In some as yet unexplained way as long as I have e-mail from a recognized and meaningful source then for that day my value can be validated. I am not a forgotten commodity and that's good. When thinking about the prisoners of war coming back from Nam or the hostages taken by political extremists or just about anyone forced into an environment of isolation I can now sense the head trip it does on you. Not that unemployment is anywhere near those situations in terms of intensity, but the thoughts you get when you don't feel connected are uncomfortable and at once force your thinking in a certain direction. I remember the same kind of thinking when I was in the Military. A different kind of isolation for sure, but back then I was away from home and familiarity. I liked the service and I liked military life, but for the first year I felt like a fish out of water. In the day to day routine of it all I was able to get through each day pretty handily, but I still felt disconnected. A year later I was fine, had made lots of friends and acquaintances and I believe the military from 1970-1974 was one of the best times of my life. It was the first time in my young life that I believed people from places other than New York, New Jersey or Connecticut were not foreigners. I think it safe to say that it was a time of maturing, growth and incredibly good memories. So again trying to pull the positives from this situation, I can classify my present circumstances as a time of meaningful change. I'm not sure that this situation will lead to any metamorphosis, but I can do my best to make this temporary inconvenience work out to the benefit of myself, my family and perhaps even my friends.
Next step is to put some thoughts down on this blog, get to calm and then in the clarity let the plan for the day come together. Like everyone these days, or so it seems, I live to a large extent by a planner. I happen to use Covey. There are many kinds of planners and methods I'm certain. I have to work toward and sometimes around the events and appointments in my planner. This is another source of potential trouble if I don't perceive the situation properly. While employed, my planner was always full of notes, dates, reminders and other symbols of relative meaning. Unemployed, the frequency of these symbols is considerably less. I need to keep that book filled with these trappings of importance, value and direction. They are important to me and help define what has value, to whom and the sense of urgency in the delivery. This day so far has not shaped up as one of urgency. The danger for me is to allow this sense of "it can wait" to govern my thinking. I refuse to turn on the television! I know that like some evil addictive drug, the television is my enemy and a formidable one at that. Television is not my friend and it offers absolutely nothing of value that can't be obtained in other ways with better results. Good, now that's out of my system.
Next step is to review my planner, make sure I have included everything I want to get done and begin getting it done. Now in retrospect, this certainly seems like a routine to me. I'm out and about!
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