Monday morning haiku
Took on a new "job"
Because I have so much time?
No, just gullible.
Maybe not gullible so much as feeling the weight of "duty" and responsibility and the need to contribute back to my community. This weekend I joined the national board of the organization for which I used to work. This means I'll have to convene local/regional meetings and attend national functions and hopefully shape our policy agenda. It also means more travel and less personal time -- and more "charitable contributions" as I spend $$ doing the organization's work.
When I was recruited to join the board, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it. I balked slightly and then thought about it. I had all of the usual excuses: no time, no money, other priorities. But I am also committed to this organization. I worked for it for years and always decried former staff who dropped outta sight after moving on to new jobs. Also, I figured that I would always be able to cite some excuse as to why I couldn't volunteer -- and in the future, those excuses might be even better -- so why let apathy get in the way? Why not now?
So, I said I would, and now I am.
In the immediate term, this translates to a trip next weekend to California for a board meeting. It also means getting up to speed on a number of issues. Fortunately for me (and not so fortunate for the organization), the work of the organization is kinda like a soap opera -- the same characters, the same issues and drawn out timelines for resolving them. You can stop following it and still be able to jump back in the middle of things, even after two years. Which is what I'm doing.
But it also means I have again an official platform for speaking to issues of concern and a mechanism for effecting (!) change. Knowing how slow the organization is to change, however, it's more likely that I'll push for change and end up frustrated, which is what happened when I was on staff. I'll also get to reconnect with former colleagues and friends, and hopefully, make a difference of some kind. On the latter point, I know reality will fall short of my hopes and expectations -- and change will only be measured in terms of shaping views, not actual changes in how things are done -- but I'll try anyway.
Have I ever mentioned that I'm generally an optimist? In fact, an idealist and an optimist? And I work in DC. Under this administration. So that means I'm an idealistic optimist with a thick skull (comes from repeated bashing against brick walls).
Because I have so much time?
No, just gullible.
Maybe not gullible so much as feeling the weight of "duty" and responsibility and the need to contribute back to my community. This weekend I joined the national board of the organization for which I used to work. This means I'll have to convene local/regional meetings and attend national functions and hopefully shape our policy agenda. It also means more travel and less personal time -- and more "charitable contributions" as I spend $$ doing the organization's work.
When I was recruited to join the board, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it. I balked slightly and then thought about it. I had all of the usual excuses: no time, no money, other priorities. But I am also committed to this organization. I worked for it for years and always decried former staff who dropped outta sight after moving on to new jobs. Also, I figured that I would always be able to cite some excuse as to why I couldn't volunteer -- and in the future, those excuses might be even better -- so why let apathy get in the way? Why not now?
So, I said I would, and now I am.
In the immediate term, this translates to a trip next weekend to California for a board meeting. It also means getting up to speed on a number of issues. Fortunately for me (and not so fortunate for the organization), the work of the organization is kinda like a soap opera -- the same characters, the same issues and drawn out timelines for resolving them. You can stop following it and still be able to jump back in the middle of things, even after two years. Which is what I'm doing.
But it also means I have again an official platform for speaking to issues of concern and a mechanism for effecting (!) change. Knowing how slow the organization is to change, however, it's more likely that I'll push for change and end up frustrated, which is what happened when I was on staff. I'll also get to reconnect with former colleagues and friends, and hopefully, make a difference of some kind. On the latter point, I know reality will fall short of my hopes and expectations -- and change will only be measured in terms of shaping views, not actual changes in how things are done -- but I'll try anyway.
Have I ever mentioned that I'm generally an optimist? In fact, an idealist and an optimist? And I work in DC. Under this administration. So that means I'm an idealistic optimist with a thick skull (comes from repeated bashing against brick walls).
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