I wrote this a while back during what I thought was a negative life altering moment. I was wrong. It was positive. More positive than I could have ever imagined. This goes to show that those in power may see more of the picture than anyone in the trenches can see.

Silent Mourning

It takes only a moment; a look; a word to change the course of your life. You become accustom to a certain way; a certain place in life. You let your guard down, feel comfortable, invincible even. You toil; expend energy that could be used for your own personal interest to better someone else or something else. You strive to be the very best at what you do. You sacrifice vacation time; family time; only taking off when it’s best for everyone else; when it won’t inconvenience those around you. You care for the people you serve wholeheartedly. Their best interest your mission, your goal, your reason for being. You invest your soul into your job. You make it part of your identity. It becomes you and you become it. A mingling of thing and life. You breathe life into the thing.


One day the machine sees a different direction; a new way. It has a purpose; a plan; a mission of its own. Your energy and devotion invisible. The machine moves forward devouring; chewing up the very life you created. Spitting out the parts it does not need; does not want. Defecating the bits it wants; it needs into dark and lonely places.

What can you do? Fight the machine? The all knowing; all powerful machine? But ah, that is not your nature, not in your make up, not in your will. What is there left to do but endure the masticating machine, tolerate every chew, every bite. Await your landing and reform yourself into its mold. Upon which you will smile; you will remain positive, even if only outwardly at first; and await the machine’s inevitable return, forever changed.