Sheila and Sarah Day 7

Sheila Day 7: In the bubble

I love blowing bubbles . . . I think bubbles are really cool as they are perfectly round, some big and some small, and all reflect a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors.  Bubbles are fun to watch as they each gently travel with the wind where they eventually pop and cease to exist.  I have been thinking a lot about bubbles lately as it has become alarmingly clear that we all spend a fair amount of time in our own without awareness of the bubbles that are in close proximity.

Because of the weather, the college was closed today and I got to spend a little alone time in my own little bubble.  I always like to start the day with a good laugh so I listened to the Bobby Bones show on the radio  which always allows me a chuckle or ten!  In my opinion, it is kind of like the Friends version of talk radio, and I believe it is important to find joy in whatever one can!  My friends will tell you I am a FREAK about Bobby Bones as will my kids!  Then decided to turn on the television, which I rarely have a chance to watch, and see what was going on with Live with Kelly and Michael as they too are often good for a few good laughs . . . they did not disappoint . . . I laughed!  I don't remember what the next show was that I saw, but I do remember the content which got me to thinking a little more about the life inside of the human bubble.

Sarah and I are only 7 days into our Christmas Journey and I am becoming alarmingly aware of bubbles.  In fact, the stores are crowded with bubbles, and yet, weirdly enough, nobody seems to be aware of the bubbles . . . each individual is kind of in their own bubble . . . and, I am no exception to the rule.  One thing that seeing allows you to do is to really pay attention to your own role in the "I am in my own bubble" world that we seem to live in.  One would think with all of the social media like Facebook, Twitter, cell phones, and texting, that we would be intricately connected to one another; however, oddly enough the opposite is actually true, and this is what I saw today.

The television show that I watched showed a picture of a young woman taking a "selfie." The problem was not that the girl was taking a picture of her glamourous self, but rather what was in the background.  In the background was a man, standing on a bridge, preparing to commit suicide.  Now, I have to admit at first, I was shocked that she was so unaware of what was going on that she had no empathy or compassion for another human being and what their personal struggle was, only that she wanted to capture that moment in time.  Then I got to thinking about the person who was taking a picture of the woman taking a selfie, who then sent the picture to a national syndicate, where they could plaster the title Selfie-Ish, My Photo with the Brooklyn Suicide Dude on the front page of the New York Post.

Now, I want to point out that police were able to talk the man off the bridge, but not before all of this could take place.  Everyone is chastising the woman for being so insensitive, and yet, maybe, just maybe, she was totally in her own bubble, a tourist gonna take her selfie by the Brooklyn Bridge, and she was oblivious to the scene that was happening directly behind her.  HOWEVER, my guess is that the photographer who took the picture of the woman saw an opportunity.  I wonder who was really in their own bubble . . . perhaps both?

When did we lose the ability to be compassionate . . . when did we lose the capacity to feel empathy for another human being.  Why do we plaster folks garbage every time and place there is an opportunity?  Are we so focused our our selfies that we have become selfie-ISH?

We all have bubbles in some way, shape, or form.  Sometimes those bubbles are are conscience, regrets, sadness, life experiences, our own faith journey, our lack of faith because life has dealt us so many blows, our love, our loss, hatred, pain, and lost dreams, so we stay in our bubbles because we are protected there.  AND yet, our personal bubbles stop us from really living life.

Bubbles should be fun!  They should catch the sunlight where you see the beauty reflected in each colorful swirl.  They are beautiful!  Those bubbles should remind us of why we are alive . . . "To love one another [as HE] loved us" and to "Love your neighbor as your [SELFIE]"--John 13:34-35 and Mark 12:31

Sarah Day 7: Keep calm and embrace the change!

I'm one of those people who isn't a huge fan of change. I like to have a plan at all times, and I like to stick with it. This past June, when I was mentally and emotionally preparing to go back to college, my plan changed. As I mentioned on "Day 1," I accepted a position and decided to wait on going back to school. At this very moment, I should be dreading finals. I should be studying my brain out and wondering if I'm ever going to make it through. You see, tests are not my thing. I typically avoid tests at all costs. When I was in my first round of college, I chose a major that required papers or art projects instead of tests. Isn't that ironic? The degree I decided to purse didn't involve tests.Yup, ironic.

Today, I'm working on a campaign . . . instead of taking biology and chemistry classes. It's called North Dakotans for Clean Water, Wildlife & Parks, and I'm the Operations Manager. My main duties are to write our newsletters and progress reports, manage our database, schedule events to signature gather at, and keep in touch with our volunteers. These are all things that I'm good at, and it feels good to finally be doing something that I like. It's not my dream to work on campaigns forever, but North Dakota needs this and I feel great that I'm putting my skills to good use. After 2 years out of college, my brain was starting to turn to mush. I definitely made the right decision by accepting this position.

If you ask anyone who has worked on a campaign or who works in politics, they would tell you that campaigns are tough. They can be draining and exhausting. Campaigns are one of those jobs that you leave in the evening, and it's the last thing you think about at night, and the first thing you think about in the morning. For me anyway. This used to bother me a little. I wasn't sure if I liked that it was consuming that much of my mind and my time . . . but as time goes on, I've learned to embrace it.

We had a new staff member join me in the office a few days ago. It used to be just me working at our campaign headquarters. I was running most things by myself. Deep down, I knew that it was best for us to hire someone else, but I didn't want to get lost in that transition. Mom once told me that because I'm naturally a negative person, it's easy for me to take things to the dark side. Which I obviously did . . . take this to the dark side. Not real dark, but it was like . . . 7:00pm.

When I was the only one working in the office, I wondered how I was going to take a day off when the roads were bad, or how I was going to call in sick when I was ill. Someone needed to be around the office for our volunteers and I never want to leave our volunteers hanging. We have the most fantastic group of volunteers! But, low and behold, the first day I ever needed to call in sick was yesterday, which just so happened to be our new staff members 2nd day. Whew! Thank goodness he was there. I was grateful to know that I could stay home and rest, and not have to worry about the campaign. Things were not going to fall apart without me. Our new staff member is our Field Director. Essentially, he is going to be doing anything and everything that's "field" related. He already knows the in's and out's of the campaign . . . I wasn't worried in the slightest about him being in the office alone.

For the first time today, I felt myself relax. I still wasn't feeling great at work, but that was okay because now, I don't have to do everything alone. My mind wasn't thinking a hundred thoughts a minute, I didn't feel like I was too behind . . . I could leave and take a lunch break! I can ask someone else for help. I don't have to answer every phone call. I can take a sigh of relief knowing that now I can do the things I was hired to do and do them to the best of my ability, rather than doing everything and just doing it mediocre.

Today, (I think) I saw what many other members of the campaign have probably seen all along, and that is that one person can not do everything alone. I saw that help is a wonderful thing, and sometimes, I need to accept that help and enjoy the fact that I'm getting it. This campaign has introduced me to so many awesome people who are all teaching me something new and different every day. These people care about me and my life and my well being. They don't want me to be stressed all the time.

Ever since we started this blog 7 days ago, I'm seeing it more and more everyday that sometimes I need to cool my jets and relax. I can't plan everything, and some things are best that way. Sometimes, I need to go with the flow and just have faith! 

Oh, and if you're wondering more about the campaign, here's our website. =)

www.cleanwaterwildlifeparks.org