Sunday, April 20, 2014

Thoughts about Big Business

I am a hippie...a modern day hippie but a hippie nonetheless and all that entails. 

I finally got around to starting a garden yesterday...and I made my plot the old fashion way....my husband and I dug up the grass and pulled the roots up....it is hard work and we are no where near complete. I eat salad for snacks and love to love. I stand by my convictions and am more concerned with enjoying life than with acquiring things. I don't shop at Walmart or eat McDonald's because they're both terrible corporations. I don't drink bottled water because many of the mainstream water bottling companies buy water from poor communities and then sell it back at rates they can not afford.

I know there are some corporations in the world that are “good” or at least better than the average but overall, I prefer to support small business. The reason being is that small businesses seem to place higher value the individual experience compared to corporations which tend to value money/profit. Some corporations are so focused on money that they will risk the health, sanity or financial stability of the customer for the sake of profit.

Money is a man made construct and in and of it self has no value. It's the services and the goods that you receive in exchange that have tangible value. Money is only valuable in theory.

Any who, my old job was productivity based...which makes sense except I worked with people...people who struggled with substance abuse addiction so their attendance was not always....reliable per say. In order to meet productivity expectations, you would need to see at least 7 people a day for 40 minutes sessions. That doesn't sound so bad right? well remember that attendance inconsistency I just mentioned, in order to have a chance at meeting our productivity requirements, we would schedule at least 14 people a day because inevitably someone would show up.

My workload bounced back and forth between two extremes...having nothing to do and having EVERYTHING to do...more times than not, it was having everything to do. When things started to become overwhelming, i initially tried to pretend as if things weren't that bad...truth be told though, it was terrible for me...

Because instead of being looked at as a person who provided a service, I was looked at as a robot that performed a function...and it seemed like all the people on top cared about was whether or not the robots were working as efficiently as they could.

When you take this and combine it with the fact that my job was to help people cope with their problems, it certainly makes for a stressful  situation. 

I was able to handle all of this stress until the sudden suicide of my supervisor last month. After his untimely demise, it became increasingly difficult to cope with the various happenings at my former place of employment. Though I was certainly appreciative of his presence while he was alive, I regret that I did not fully realize the positive impact he had on our work space until he was no longer apart of said space...

and so I made the most impulsive move I've ever made in my life...The Queen of responsibility walked out of a stable job because it did not line up with my personal values and beliefs. I only have one life to live and it is so important to me to make sure that everything I do supports everything I am. 

If you could take out some time to visit http://www.gofundme.com/8g6bf0 and check out my fundraising campaign to help start my mobile therapy business it would be greatly appreciated. I think it's a worthy cause and I am excited about being able to help my community. 

Peace & Love
-Atiya


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