When I look back over my previous witterings, I can sense a pattern developing with regard to some of the non-paid voluntary work I do. It would seem to go quiet for a while and then all of a sudden burst into periods of frustration, irritation and in some cases downright misery. I fear that we might be heading for another patch like this. I know that a good friend of mine has experienced similar annoyances in his chosen field of volunteering and that this might ring a few bells. As with much of the voluntary work in this country, a large proportion of it is carried out by some quite senior and elderly people, and if I might be a little more specific, some quite old fashioned people, certainly in their approach to efficiency. I have very recently witnessed arguments that have become quite heated about THE most trivial of matters that could be resolved in the click of a finger. The problem however is that this trivialities become far larger in terms of their importance than they ever should. It is difficult to illustrate this without going into too many specifics of course, and I do not want to give any further ammunition to misplaced ire. So why is so much importance given over to triviality I wonder? I am working more hours than I probably ever have before. This work is in many cases fascinating and rewarding to me, and as a result, sometimes, the voluntary work can seem less important to me, than perhaps it should. That's not to say that I don't care very deeply, but when I come across some of the people that I do in day to day life, these trivialities annoy me. During my time of working with children I have encountered some amazing young people, who have coped with some horrific incidents and scenarios. The strength with which they continue, and the lack of fuss is one that should be an inspiration to me to ensure that a sense of priority is always at the forefront of all that I do. I'm only human though, and sometimes I need to give myself a good talking to and in some cases a damn good dressing down. I think perhaps that this is the kind of thing that might be required in the voluntary scenario to which I refer. I suspect that there will be an attempt to take up some of my valuable time over the next few days with discussions about things that are really not very important, and I shall resist all such attempts, choosing instead to sit writing furiously at my laptop. I shall report further on the success of this venture, should I succeed!
The year is panning out very nicely, to the extent that whilst I am snowed under, I can still spare the time to be thinking and planning a little of what we do next year. I love those little moments of clarity where everything falls into place and you come up with the idea that might really light up your business or the project you are working on at the time. I had one of these revelatory moments recently, and since then I have been running it over in my mind ever since. It of course leads to sleepless nights, but it is all positive.
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