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Last week I told you about our upcoming career fair.
It’s very exciting because there are many employers locally now ready to hire again and wanting to talk with prospective workers.
After that column, a friend from years ago reached out, and what he said resonated with me.
He told me that at his company people are grateful for having a job these days. They’re grateful for the opportunity to interact, to still be creative and to connect with the outside world.
If you’re like me, you’re probably tired of listening to political ranting, current events and just consuming so much negativity in general.
He reminded me to focus attention elsewhere, and block out the noise we don’t need in our lives.
It got me thinking about the things I’m grateful for, during a pandemic or not.
For instance, I’m extremely grateful for my family. During all of this, they’ve been the only constant people in my life besides colleagues.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to do a job I love with solutions and opportunities that help the local economy. Every day, that fuels and drives me.
And I’m grateful for the ability to choose: who to vote for, what opinions to have and what decisions to make.
I’ve come to believe that reflecting on all that is good washes away all that is bad.
For me – and I know for many of you – looking at what we’re grateful for really helps, especially during times like these.
With many being unemployed, the temptation to mope is abundant, but the bright light is that we do have hiring happening here. It’s all a matter of being open to interviews and opportunities.
We have great opportunity if we let it in.
My mother and I talked the other day, too, about how different daily life is.
We’re constantly masking up, keeping our distance and avoiding crowds. Before March, many of us were looking for crowds and group activities.
We talked about the ways paces have slowed. We’re not crunching as much into a day as before or rushing to get from place to place. Life is less hurried.
But, through all of those talks, as well, we kept coming back to what we’re grateful for.
Many of the things we appreciate are the same – just like with my friend who reached out after last week’s column.
We’re all grateful for the simpler things.
After the past week, I thanked both my friend and my mother for taking the time to have these unexpected conversations.
They were simple and unplanned, but special and reflective.
They reminded me the things I’m grateful for, and that’s a blessing.
Mike McGinley is the Times Leader Media Group’s major accounts executive. Reach him at [email protected] or 570-704-3945.