Strange days
The true last days of 2008 may well have been this weekend as the 5th marks the official start back to work date for most people. All down the block I have talked to all sorts of people preparing for tomorrow while there is the pull to enjoy this beautiful January day (in the high 70s) and to prepare for the year ahead.
I started the morning reading an article in the NYT that Michael Lewis had cowrote. It gave me pause. Long pause. But the best part of the article was it laid out a plan to move forward and I think that any big Come To Jesus needs a and what do we do next action plan.
A friend called, she renegotiated her contract with work and her salary was reduced substantially. She decided, since the pay cut was nonnegotiable, to instead negotiate her relationship. She wants more time with her children and husband, she doesn’t want to be asked to work overnight, weekends, and she certainly doesn’t want a lot of the madness that comes with people wanting too much for too little.
I think that is a good precursor to this next year. The freight train has chugged into a station for much needed repairs, do we continue to grasp the seat handles with white knuckles, or do we take a deep breath, get off the train and stretch our legs, look up, look around, talk to people we don’t normally speak with in the throes of business, and renegotiate our relationship to everything.