Mission Statement Part Four: In My Journey Through Life

In my Journey through Life, I will:

Follow the roadmap: Know where I am and where I’m going

 

I pride myself at being a 21st Century kind of gal – I’m pretty adept at my computer (PC – I haven’t graduated to Apple yet); I can use Chrome, Office, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Linked-In; I purposefully equipped my car and learned how to use the bells-and-whistles like a Smart Key, Sirius XM, hands-free phone, and, of course, a heated seat. I can speak to my GPS so I can keep driving while it tells me how to get to where I am going. That is so much better than folding a map! (Ummm, do you remember having to use a map that requires a degree in engineering in order to unfold it and fold it back up? Or am I dating myself again?)

Anyway, the GPS will tell me where and how to reach my destination. If I miss a turn, it will “recalculate my route” and get me back on track. The key to successfully following a recalculated route is to know where you are, not just where you are going, and to pay attention to the directions being given.

Wouldn’t it be great if, every time we take a wrong turn – speak disrespectfully, gossip about someone, choose the wrong job just because it pays better, buy something even if it means going outside the budget – your route would be recalculated so you’re back on track, and you know where you are and where you are going? Joel Osteen talked about that in one of his talks: God knows where I am at all times and will recalculate my route if I make a wrong turn. I just have to believe that He will be my GPS at all times. What’s the key? I have to be aware that I made a wrong turn or missed a turn, and ask God. “A little help here?” I ask Him, and I listen for His response.

Of course, it always helps to have a navigator, even when using a hands-free GPS. The second pair of eyes and ears helps me to be more mindful with my driving. That’s how it is with life – it helps to have someone who can listen to me, to help me get my moral and emotional compass back to True North, and catch life’s nuances that may pass me by.

My Journey Through Life - Part 3

In my Journey through Life, I will:

Take the high road: Forgive quickly, and live with integrity, empathy, and compassion

Snow Day

I have a really sweet work situation: I work as a Writer-Editor for the Amarillo Field Office, but I telework from the agency office in Santa Fe, where I live. One week a month I travel to Amarillo to interact with my co-workers, but, for the most part, my work is done electronically. I can call in to meetings and participate via speaker phone, and I simply tunnel in to the field office file network and/or email my work back and forth. I am trusted to work independently and in a self-directed way, and I cherish that trust.

I was scheduled to be in Amarillo last week. Last weekend, seeing the approaching storm on the 5-day forecast, we decided to postpone the trip. Sure enough, both Santa Fe and Amarillo were hammered with snow. On Wednesday, the snow hit Santa Fe and by that afternoon, the Amarillo office left early as the storm approached. So Wednesday and Thursday were snow days or early departure/delayed openings. However, as a teleworker, I can simply work from home – there is no need for time off because of snow. I was faced with one of the strongest ethical dilemmas a teleworker can encounter – when all of your co-workers are sleeping in because of snow, the teleworker is physically at “work”, and is expected to put in the hours as if s/he is at the office. My normal workday starts at 7:00 am -- who would know if I slept in? Who would know if watched the morning news or game shows? I would know, and that’s all that matters. I logged in to my computer promptly at 7:00 and put in my 9-hour day. On Friday morning, it was really cold and windy but sunny in Santa Fe, and I went to work as usual, like all of the Santa Fe-based agency workers. Amarillo was still digging out of the snow and had a 2-hour delay; I work in Santa Fe, however, and I am trusted to make the right work decision: to work where and when folks in Santa Fe are working. 

Ethical behavior and acting with integrity means taking the high road, and knowing that I did just that kept my inner candle lit.

Mission Statement Part Two: In my Journey through Life

In my Journey through Life, I will:

Take someone with me: Cherish friendship and family, and let time heal my heart

For the two days before Christmas 2014, I did my annual visits to my siblings and friends, delivering a box of Christmas goodies to each of them. I have to start the baking for these boxes around Thanksgiving in order to have the variety and a sufficient amount of cookies, muffins, fudge and candies that I think is “just right”. The baked goods are loaded into a freezer, while I have to make the fudge and candy at the last minute. I also include some kind of hand-crafted item; this year, the recipients found a crocheted potholder or washcloth/soap holder set. I have to start the handcrafting in the summer, in order to have enough for each box.

The point of the Christmas goodie box is not so much the giving as the receiving: The two days that I spend delivering the boxes are my two favorite days of the year, because I get to see almost all of my siblings and receive their loving kindness, hugs, and kisses. It is not so much the effort: It is a months-long experience of baking and creating, time that I spend thinking of each individual and family and visualizing delivery day.

There were two additional special events for this past Christmas: We participated in a tamalera for the first time at my sister Peggy’s home, sitting around the table, making tamales with her and all of her daughters and their daughters.  I also spent time during the year to create a special Prayer Shawl for my sister Gloria, who lives in a local nursing home. Visiting with her and my niece Shirley, a year after she lost her oldest son Arthur, Jr., was a special moment that I will treasure.

Two years ago, I didn’t give out goodie boxes. I had just experienced a significant weight loss, and it would have been very difficult (and a bit incongruent) to do the required baking and cooking. Instead, I created special Christmas rosaries for everyone and sent them out. It was a melancholy Christmas, because, despite my loving and prayerful intention, I didn’t get to actually visit with everyone. I was also estranged from one of my loved ones, and my heart was in pain. That Christmas two years ago, I had lost sight of the true meaning of my tradition – seeing everyone in the space of two days, receiving my special hugs and kisses, catching up on the year, tasting the Vigil/Baca/Valdez tamales and empanaditas that were unique to each of those families.

For Christmas 2013, I reconciled with my loved one, resumed my tradition of delivering my Christmas boxes, and vowed never to spend another Christmas without cherishing my friends and family. For Christmas 2014, I kept that vow.

Mission Statement Part One: In My Journey through Life I Will Travel Light

I will travel light: Get rid of excess emotional and physical baggage; live simply

Over 20 years ago, I read a book that taught how to simplify one’s life. Like many of the books I have read, I don’t remember the title and author, but I remember one of the basic tenets: to live simply, I have to do without a lot of “stuff”.

Most men own a dress suit or two, and the coordinating accessories, simple casual clothes like jeans and polo shirts or t-shirts, and only a couple of pairs of shoes. They can just grab what is on the rack or shelf and off they go. Women, on the other hand, are lured to department stores by seasonal sales, and quickly learn the emotional value of buying a pair of shoes with a purse to match. The result is a closet full of suits, dresses, pants, designer jeans, and a rack of shoes that would make Imelda Marcos proud. That was me: I had a job that I thought required me to Dress for Success, so I invested in clothes and shoes.

So in adopting the simple life, I went to a wardrobe that was similar to that of a man’s: one pair of black “dress” shoes (mine are black walking shoes), one pair of weekend tennis shoes, and one pair of slippers; black trousers for work (two, to rotate); five or six work blouses or tops and black trouser socks for work; a couple of weekend casual shirts and a couple of pairs of plain Lee jeans. I no longer wore skirts or dresses that required panty hose and dressy shoes. I learned that I could be successful and professional without having to look like the cover of Vogue. Today, I have the same kind of wardrobe, except I now can wear jeans to work with uniform shirts, so the daily decision is even easier. I can literally get dressed in the dark, grabbing the pants with the next shirt in the rotation, a pair of socks from the sock drawer, and the shoes that waited on the floor in front of the clothes rack.

Another tip from the book was to go through all your other “stuff” that you don’t use regularly and put it all in unmarked boxes in storage. If you need something, you would have to look for it. If, after one year, you didn’t have to look for something in a box, take the box to Goodwill without looking at it. That’s what I did, and it was a large donation that year. This was a difficult exercise, because a lot of “stuff” had sentimental value, or I believed that I would need it someday. But I discerned that if something had true sentimental value (like something belonging to my parents, or an award of some kind), I didn’t pack it. If I thought I might need it someday, I asked myself if it was something that could become outdated, or could easily be replaced with a newer version. If the answer was yes, it got packed away.

So now every year, I take bags of clothes and other “stuff” to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Every year, the amount is less, because I get better and better at not buying stuff I won’t use. Last year and this year, Goodwill got more, because I lost a significant amount of weight and I will not be using the larger sizes. I kept a bit of it last year just in case the weight loss didn’t take, but now I am in the second year of maintaining the weight, so I am convinced I will stay at this new goal weight.

I now value gifts of “experience” – dinner at a special restaurant; concerts and other events; special family occasions; annual loving visits with my siblings when I deliver the Christmas goodie baskets that are designed to be consumed.

I am grateful for what I have: important tools that make my life easier, a loving family; and special events that remind me that life is simple, and life is good.