Planting the Seed

Katherine’s decided to branch out and create presentations and workshops for the business community — to help facilitate better communication and cooperation between employees and employers, between top and lower management, between divisions and departments, etc.

I’m all for it!  We are surrounded by all types of families.  We have the family we're born into and the family we marry into.  There are the families we choose to be a part of, like our family of friends; and then there are our work-families — the people we work with...

Those who are very religious may turn to their church groups for comfort and support; others who feel very strongly about social causes will associate strongly with their political groups.

Each relationship within these different families is unique.  It is important not to treat them all the same, just as it is important not to discount the value of each.  We need all of them to fully appreciate and experience the spectrum of human relationships. 

None of them should be taken for granted, nor should one be mistaken or act as a substitute for any other.  Each has a role in discovering where we came from and who we choose to become.

I believe all of this… to my detriment.

I believe that everyone strives to treat each other with respect and kindness.  I believe that each member cares for each other and wants to support each other.  I believe that family members want to work together to create something greater than themselves.  I believe that everyone desires to be a member of a trusting and fulfilling relationship — no matter what form it takes.

Yes, I believe all of this… to my detriment.

You see… I have a very protective nature.  If a family member is being mistreated, I step in to protect.

I never stop and think of the harm that may befall me.  I never stop and think that the family member may not want my protection. I never stop and think that I can’t change the situation for the better.

I just step in because I believe that we should stand up for each other.

Yes, I believe all of this… to my detriment.

The toughest place to live my beliefs is at work.  Currently, corporate America does not function as a family unit.  Competition and the survival-of-the-fittest model rule the roost.  Co-workers do not trust or respect each other.  They blame others for the consequences of their own actions.  The distrust that is fostered between management and employees, between departments and divisions — and even within departments and divisions — works against synergy.

Yes. It’s difficult to live my beliefs at the workplace, but I try… to my detriment.

I’m completely outnumbered by those who play the corporate game.

I’m look upon as some type of oddity at work, because I treat people with respect. 

I’m seen as a balanced and stable person — as if that is a bad thing (?) — because I don’t react to the chronic chaos that permeates the environment that surrounds me.  I don’t overly react to things around me, because I trust that everything will work out the way it’s meant to be. 

No, I’m not the person people come to for the latest gossip, but I am the person they come to when they need a listening ear.  I’m not the person they acknowledge or thank when things go right, but I am the person they come to when things go wrong.

All of this would be well worth it, if only I knew I was making a difference… if only I knew they were listening… if only I knew my actions were influencing others to change.

I’m not given that type of reassurance… but, as Katherine reminds me, “All we can do is plant the seed.  One day, the seed will grow.  That is our hope.”


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