Maybe it was natural in the 80’s coupled with dusty pink… It is natural in stone… It is natural in a thunderous sky..
It is natural as a hair colour too – I am living proof.

Now… we are only talking about maybe half a dozen hairs on the left hand side of the crown of my head… not too noticeable. Not too offensive … but my hair is getting longer and so are the grey ones…So… what do I do? Dye my hair again? Expensive… much maintenance required… Cut them off at the roots? Hmmm leaves a little grey spike..

Nah, none of the above…

Yank them…

Yep… Grey hairs… natural they may be… but as far as I am concerned I am better off without them until the dark ones are outnumbered…

I had a great day. Thoroughly productive. I created an animation for our women’s conference, and did lots of administrating of a web type nature. Great fun.

I got to thinking about being satisfied with life where it pertains to work.

Work is a great thing – but I look at some of my friends who are in jobs they can’t stand and I wonder what is so hard about being happy at work? Sometimes what I see my friends going through makes me feel far from normal.

I love my work and have done for years, regardless of what I was doing. It hasn’t always been that way, it was 9 years before I found out what I was good at and I set my sail towards it (it was customer service at that stage). Since then, in the whole work zone I consistently have set my faith towards a great work life and haven’t yet failed to cruise into the same satisfying slipstream.

Work is such a major part of life. Without it we go hungry or homeless at worst, or at the very best without lattes and restaurant dinners. We stay where we hate to be rather than face the insecurity of not having work. We stay because we have become so discouraged that we honestly begin to believe that the only reason we haven’t got something better is that we actually don’t deserve to have it. That’s tragic. (Public Service Announcement: For goodness sake, please don’t resign from your job just because of this paragraph…)

It is possible to have a job that satisfies. It is possible to have a job that is uniquely suited to your skills and gifts and talents and dreams. It all comes down to what you believe about yourself and what you are prepared to put in to get it. And if, like me, you have the added dimension of faith in a God who is as passionately interested in your own life as you are, it seems to me that there is very little that can stand in your way.

Now don’t get me wrong. There have been great jobs and c*rap ones in my 18 years (half my life actually) in the work place and each job I have been in has had it’s cr*p moments. But each has made it’s contribution to my skill set and the character I have now which has made me an asset to an employer. But I think my biggest asset is my faith in myself, a faith born out of faith in God and the value I know I have in Him. Because I know my value I am not overawed by those who I meet or those whom I serve, I know what I can do and I know what I am worth. I think because I know that I can be in command of my work life. I can choose to seek out the bigger wage packet or I can settle for less in favour of conditions that suit or the freedom to take ministry opportunities as well. The sky is only limit really…

I wish I could give other people that confidence. Still if I had a list of things I would suggest it would go something like this.

1. Take the time and money to meet with a careers counselor, a proper one who can gather the right information from you and match you to a list of fields that would suit you… I have done this twice in my years in the workplace the results were spot on and very helpful.

2. Read “What Color is your Parachute?” and start looking for work based on what you can offer and what you are good at and what will challenge you rather than trying to fit yourself to what an employer thinks he is looking for…

3. Don’t let work be your life. Have a life outside of the office (or wherever).

4. Don’t let work dictate how you feel about yourself.

5. If you have a dream, that maybe you have discredited or discounted because you honestly didn’t believe you could make it happen, pull it out, dust it off and start to imagine what life would be like if you actually did make it happen… Now… stop imagining and make a plan… Don’t expect it to happen tomorrow… take a little step today and another… and another… well, you get the idea…

Any thoughts?

This is kind of a chicken or an egg scenario… Which comes first? Feeling good about yourself or taking time on (and a bit of pride in) one’s appearance? I think it is an interesting question… It is born out of my current situation which goes something like this…

I have been remarkably lazy about certain morning routines like blow-drying my hair with any great style in mind and in the application of make-up… In turn I have been going through my daily tread feeling less than attractive and less than interesting. Which came first? Am I less interested in taking care of these things because I feel blah or do I feel blah because I am not focusing on how I look?

Other contributing factors:

1. My wardrobe needs an overhaul and some serious augmentation…
2. My comfortable upholstery got somewhat more comfortable over the winter (contributing in part to the wardrobe dilemma)
3. I have been decidedly uncaring concerning the food that I choose
4. I have been equally uncaring about getting out of bed to exercise (this is contributed to in part by the wardrobe dilemma … I need new tracky daks (track pants for the unAustralians))

Here’s the thing. I decided to wear rather fetching clobber to work on Tuesday. Make-up included. For some reason this motivated me to make my own lunch, a tasteful yet healthy salad, and also to purchase fresh vegies and chicken (no carbs) for dinner and choose against dessert and chocolate during the day.

I think the choice to love myself came first. I simply decided I was worth making the effort for. Having decided I was worth painting a face on in the morning flowed over into

1. I am worth nourishing with the right food
2. I am worth accessorizing
3. I am worth dressing in fine linen (once payday has come and gone)
4. I am worth a second glance

I will be worth walking the beach once again too… soon… I mean it!

I accept that changing one’s internal dialogue is simpler for some than others. There are all sorts of hindrances to such change… historical mindsets, conditioning etc. I am neither so naive as to suggest that I, in and of myself, have the power to change internal dialogue like this in my own strength. That’s where the God factor is amazing.

I was aware I needed, for my health’s sake and the sake of my self esteem, to change my diet. So I began to pray for a change of heart and mind about me – not food. That’s where God has an opportunity to go to work.. Give him an inch…

Well… it has worked for me so far. A simple change of mind has changed a whole series of behaviours.

I guess the next question is “How Long will it Last?”

Good Question. I will add stickability to the prayerlist… Shooting for indefinitely though…