The giving tree

[mlr]

...in Dallas for a weekend break. Today, entering a large room filled with orange balloons, I could feel a drop or two of accumulated stress drip away. At the height of my anguish last night at 4:00 A.M., I found myself reading aloud The Giving Tree to Israel. I was surprised he didn't know it, and I searched to find it online. (I found only the text.) I explained that I didn't mean to imply that he was the boy - or that anyone was in particular - but that I certainly did relate to the tree. I guess that's what you sow when you work all week like a dog at two jobs and try to maintain demanding goals. (In truth, the boy and the tree are like many dichotomies; the more you can claim one position, the more likely you are to be able to claim its opposite.) In reviewing the past couple of months, I can see how much I needed a break. The boss has kept me solo on my current project. I think he really likes the look of it, and doesn't want it spoiled by someone else's sense of design or lazy habits. But this makes for very intense days. I'm afraid in the midst of stress I broke one of my cardinal rules this week: Never show contempt for another person in a business meeting. No one said anything, nor did I make any overt statement. But in review, I think I was less than collegial with someone I'm scheduled to work with soon. Most people must contend with difficult others. It's not their report card we should worry about but our own. An incapacity to tolerate fools is a trait that most people over the age of 40 should have dropped.

Comments

[realaustinman.livejournal.com]

Agreed that that capability to work with all sorts comes with the territory of being a professional, but I'd add that once one is beyond the years of having to prove one's self, there's a particular value in being able to call BS when someone's shoveling it. Done politely, sparingly, but firmly, it's a powerfuly tool. As is another of my favorites. Silence.

[mlr.livejournal.com]

agreed!