Perspective

Lately, I struggle, as all job seekers do from time-to-time, with a "heightened sense of self"---that is, a preoccupation with my own, perceived miserable state.  Now mind you, I'm working a contract for a well-known company, so cash flow is still green, but it is a contract position.   There is some tentativeness in being a contract worker, but as I've told many people, we are all, in a sense, in contract positions.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is fairly well-known (though his explanation of the human condition is incomplete), so I will state my struggle in these terms:  a job is a job, and that puts food on the table, but it does not guarantee that you feel a sense of esteem and self-actualization.   All this said (and I know many who are job-hunting, jobless, and under-employed would agree with the above), I wish I could maintain a proper perspective on life during a job hunting period.

I have a fellow church member in his 50s who is has had a surprising recovery from PANCREATIC cancer, but who is now facing an uncertain prognosis after recently learning he has liver cancer.   And here is the part that really cuts me really deep:  when I call him to see how he is doing, his first question is, "How is the job search going?  Have you heard back from company x?"  I try to update him quickly so that I can ask him how HE'S doing, as his issues are much more significant than mine, and because I'm embarrassed by the whining that he does not know I've done about job hunting.

Despite this awareness of my lack of perspective, and like the Israelites in the desert having seen great miracles of God in their lives, I complain to God--and feel guilty.   Perhaps my prayer ought to be, "Lord, give me the right perspective to give you thanks every day."