This morning Emmy and I went to the Unitarian Universalist Church in Corvallis again. Emmy likes to get there early before anybody else does so that she connect with the environment before people get there. Once we arrived at church she sat down at the sofa and table and begin folding bulletins as she normally does. I went into the fellowship hall and set up the tables and chairs that people use doing the snack break.

 

After I was done with that, as I normally do, I went around looking for people to connect with. I often pick new people that I've never talked with before. I am really intensely interested in people. I like to just listen to people by asking them questions and drawing them out.

 

This morning I met a woman who had some type of job that involved working with the environment or something. As I listened intently to her and drew her out with my questions, she told me that in her field of expertise that she was on the list of the 100 most influential or important people or a mover & shaker or something like that. She said that she had been given awards or acknowledgments for the quality and depth of her work, and that she was making a real difference in the lives of other people. However, as she talked, she told me that she was so tired and burned out with her job that she just wanted to quit and leave it all. She said that she had decided to leave her job in a few months. I continued asking her questions about what was stressing her out about her job. Then one of the questions I asked her was if there was anything that she liked about her job. It was kind of hard for her to answer because she was so burned out. However, I seem to sense that she did have some connection with her job except that she was just so burnt out. One of the questions that I asked her was that if she could redesign her job and just take only the parts of it that she really liked what would that look like? I suggested that she really think that out and then go to her supervisor and tell him or her that you are burned out and can't keep going on as you have been. Then present the job that she had redesigned and see whether or not that could be workable. I said to her that if she was told "No" then that would be an answer. What would she have to lose? She was going to leave anyway. She seemed to really like that idea. She was interested in talking more but the church service was beginning and she really wanted to be part of that. She left to go into the service so quickly that I did not get her name or her picture. So I am likely not to remember her when she comes back. However, I did give her one of my cards with our picture on it and she gladly took that.

 

Today the church also had an action luncheon which Emmy and I went to early because we had a class afterward. We got our plates of food and went upstairs to the classroom.

 

Over the last day or two Emmy and I have been debating for questioning whether or not we should go to the second session of the 6-week Adult Credo class,  that we had started last week.