Be the Light to Someone on the 4th of July
Inspiration and Wisdom for the Fourth of July
On the other end of my cell phone was a familiar voice, a warm, typically bubbly voice that sounded a bit low even though it was her birthday. Knowing how hard her profession has been the past eighteen months because she is a scientist communicating with customers ranging from 5,000 person companies to 5 staff operations answering safety procedures and protocols due to the pandemic. “I’m just wiped-out Tracy as we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel with Covid-19,” she said. “It’s been brutal.”
Her exasperated voice sounded familiar to my husbands who helps manage a large company where they’ve lost customers and staff and are facing supply chain shortages due to the backlog of work and products and lackluster vendors during the economic shutdown. “Wow, it is crazy here,” a quick text message said after the phone call with my friend. Although I’ve represented small woman-owned companies for almost 3 decades, most of them haven’t faced the same enormous corporate issues as my husband and friend have due to the size of their enterprises; but that’s not to say these female-owned companies haven’t seen decreases in their revenue or shortages in supply or staff or increases in pricing like big corporations, because they have. They are equally stressed waiting for the end of the pandemic tunnel.
After hearing a tragic story about a young man who lost his life to suicide due to stress from work and the pandemic, I remembered the words of my friend say, “I think people need more mental health programs or seminars. People have been under too much stress and its coming to the surface now.” She’s right. I’ve witnessed it, read about it and understand not everyone comes through a crisis the same way for different reasons.
As you hopefully take the 4th of July Weekend off from work to gather with others, remember there might be people in your family, work network, or larger neighborhood circle, who might be having a hard time even though the fireworks are going off and the hotdogs grilled perfectly. Keep an eye open for anyone who could use the compassion or generosity of someone like you to ask them how they’ve been doing or how they are feeling especially if you know their professional career or life has been impacted by Covid-19.
We always want holiday time to be joyous and celebratory but for some this year, your attention and personal conversation might be just what they need to release some stress to be able to move on and feel better. Be that special light to someone that a firework might not bring on July 4th.
Women TIES 