Confession (it’s good for the soul, right): I wrote a ablog, and then promptly deleted the entire thing. I was afraid it was too harsh. I was afraid that people who don’t know my heart would read it and not understand. I was afraid that in this world where everyone is so quick to jump on the hate train that it would be taken out of context.
I tried to write on something totally different, but I kept finding myself coming back to the same bottom line. Every blog I tried to write started differently, but ended the same. I scraped them all.
What was that bottom line? Life is short, and people are valuable.
I could end this entire blog with that statement, and sleep tonight in peace. But, I feel like I should elaborate as to why this keeps coming back to me and how it relates to Bona Vista Programs.
What drives you? Is it accomplishments in your life? Is it the title you have at work? Is it how many friends you have? Is it the number of “likes” your Instagram post gets? Is it how important people think you are?
It could be something totally different, and that’s GREAT! Before I started working at Bona Vista Programs, I would tell people I was looking for a job where I made a difference in someone’s life every single day. I went on a ton of interviews, and had a few offers. I declined them all. I didn’t want another “job” just to have a “job.” Yes, I understand you have to pay bills. And, believe me, I’ve been a barista at an amazing, local coffee shop because I had to pay bills, too. But I didn’t want to start another career that I wasn’t passionate about. Life is too short to do stuff you don’t like. We make life more complicated than it needs to be at times… in my opinion.
When people would ask me what kind of job I was looking for, and I would tell them my standard “making a difference” answer, they would look at me like I just told them their hair was on fire. Like it was the most bizarre thing they had ever heard in their entire life. That always left me a little perplexed. Was it so weird? Why isn’t that the norm? Why aren’t more people doing what they love and not settling for less? Believe me, there were times I didn’t think I would find it, either. Times when I was ready to settle, but everything inside me told me to just hold out a little longer.
It can be scary, though, and I get that. It’s SO much more comfortable to stay doing what you’re doing because change is uncertain. Maybe you’ll move to a job you think you’ll love and then hate it. Maybe no one has ever told you that it’s OK not to work at some place for 50 years. Maybe you’ve never taken the time to figure out what you’d do if you could do anything (if you haven’t… you should).
I don’t know where you’re at in your life. And, you only know of me what I’ve told you in these articles. What I know for certain is that your life (and mine) are too short. I don’t know who said it originally, but I’ve heard this saying multiple times that has always stuck with me – Your life is made of two dates and a dash. Make the most of the dash.
Are you living your dash? Or are you just getting to the next date?
If you’re ready for a change, make it. If you’re not getting the most out of your dash, do something about it. Life is too short, and you’re too valuable to settle for less. Chances are that I probably don’t know you, Mr & Mrs. Blog Reader. But, you’re human… so you matter and you have value.
If that change is job-related, I’d love to talk to you about coming to work at Bona Vista Programs. If that change is figuring out how you can make a difference in the lives of some of the amazing people we serve by volunteering, I’d love to talk to you. If that change is finding services for someone you love with special needs, I’d love to talk to you to get you connected with our programming. If that change is donating to a cause where you are 100 percent certain you’re funds are being used to enhance the lives of others, I’d love to talk to you about how you can do that now and in the future.
Living your dash may not involve Bona Vista, and I realize that. I hope if you’re reading this, though, that in some small way it does because my dash involves you.
Until the next time… keep a good view on life!
-AB