Musings at Altitude

In my 27 years of post college work, I’ve had my share of awkward and uncomfortable situations to resolve and weight-of-the-world issues to carry:

• I’ve been asked to defend insanity in a work environment when there really was no defense. 
• I’ve been asked by unethical leaders to accept as “ok” the unethical things that they were doing, and then forced to live with the consequences because of the decisions I made. 
• I’ve been “asked” to go “off payroll” for many months at a time while my company desperately sought funding, and I’ve been forced to consider the possible consequences of enormous personal and professional debt.
• I’ve been asked to accept highly unacceptable working environments to protect egos or retain “experts” that otherwise would leave an organization.
• I’ve been required to work enormously long hours as a sole hope to meet payroll while also trying to sell the services of those still on the payroll but not necessarily capable of selling their services on their own.
• I’ve been asked to “get that invoice paid” when we had not yet delivered what was expected and certainly didn’t deserve payment.
• I’ve been asked to justify actions of unjustifiable people, and I’ve been used to defend and to validate the actions of those that don’t deserve defense and validation.
• And I’ve been accused of things that I had nothing to do with, and I’ve been blamed for the actions of others to deflect the heat off those who had made poor decisions and thus cost the company immeasurably.

As I sat at home last night thinking about those times when I felt crushed by the burdens that weighed so heavily on me, I smiled in knowing that someone always reached down and picked me up and helped me rise above the weight of the issues at hand or the impact of the malicious attacks.  Those special people always saw beyond the very suffocating burdens and, through their actions, they lightened the load, forced some smiles, focused me on the reality and not the insanity, and helped carry me through.

Although I remember many of those who created the burdens or initiated the attacks, I remember even more those that through their words and actions helped me through tough situations and tough decisions.  The sharp memories of the oppressive issues have softened and faded over time.  But the intimate details of those who provided such incredible support in times when I needed that the most remain so visible to me as I play back the memory clips and smile in thinking about each situation.

As I sit here this morning welcoming the challenges of this new day, I’m so thankful for those who stepped into my life during those very tough times and helped me rise above.  You are remembered big time.  And you are appreciated more than you will ever know.