tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9827454.post8429289687583710050..comments2023-10-23T12:23:54.134-05:00Comments on Larry James' Urban Daily: Tiresome work. . .Larry Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124477733714017000noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9827454.post-23566046433227591212009-09-02T19:56:31.981-05:002009-09-02T19:56:31.981-05:00You and yours are doing something radical. This i...You and yours are doing something radical. This is exhausting, because there is very little in the 'system' which resonates with it -- since it's new ground. And yet... it is the only way real change occurs.<br /><br />I also admire that your leadership allows those within your organization to express their own opinions freely. This is rare in nonprofits, in my experience.<br /><br />Keep on keepin' on. I know you will.Karennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9827454.post-78608939960442690922009-09-01T11:04:34.471-05:002009-09-01T11:04:34.471-05:00Thanks, Randy. As always, thoughtful and full of ...Thanks, Randy. As always, thoughtful and full of insight.Larry Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06124477733714017000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9827454.post-49095657663077913572009-09-01T08:50:39.782-05:002009-09-01T08:50:39.782-05:00I have no doubt that your fatigue is deep and genu...I have no doubt that your fatigue is deep and genuine and with good cause. I think I get it.<br /><br />I think back to my (full-time) ministry days. You never felt finished. Ever. <br /><br />But I think the problem, unique in your arena, does have parallels in the "rest of the working world." I think of the Barbara Ehrenreich book NIckel and Dimed, about the work that never provides enough to catch up and get ahead. And I think about the current insecurity in today's job market. <br /><br />Yes, you have to re-capitalize every year, but a whole lot of people have to work in arenas where the top management is trying to lay off as many as possible, over and over again. This is to either increase profits, or simply stay alive. There are a whole lot of former auto workers who have seen their entire industry become a perpetual land of insecurity.<br /><br />I think fatigue may be the dominant trait of this economic era. And the wide-spread fatigue and insecurity simply adds to your burden to do charity for today. <br /><br />In re-living the years of Bobby Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy, in the last few days at the death of Teddy, it is clear that the needs of the poor are deep, and abiding. But now, in a new way, the needs of the "middle" seem to be creeping in to your work as well. So -- I understand that you are tired. Just as those who seek your help are tired. And just as those who seek your counsel about getting into non-profit work are tired... (I suspect that more than a few of those folks are looking at your arena because they are so uncertain in their own). <br /><br />Do I have solutions? No. But I think it is a deep, deep problem. <br /><br />(I recently blogged about this era of fatigue: "Is Everybody Tired, or is it Just Me? — Energy and Time Management in the Midst of Challenging Times"<br />http://ffbsccn.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/is-everybody-tired-or-is-it-just-me-energy-and-time-management-in-the-midst-of-challenging-times/)<br /><br />Randy Mayeux<br />DallasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com