Peace vs. chaos

Today 1,500 employees of the West Penn Hospital system received confirmation their jobs were being eliminated as a cost cutting measure. Administration may have said, "it's not personal," while handing out the pink slips, but as we all know it is definitely personal to each individual affected by job loss or change. Everything changes as we know it, the immediate things are income, medical coverage, and pensions; but the emotional side of our selves changes too. We may feel a sense of grief, losing something that was important to our existence, something that made us feel that we had a purpose or that we were making a difference in our little piece of the world. Health care is like no other field, despite the chaos, stress and loss of life; these dedicated employees are committed to the welfare and healing of the patients, the mission of the hospital, and to the community that makes up teams of people dependent on each other to get the job done. From the maintenance staff to the physicians, each person contributes their gifts and talents for the greater good.

It may difficult to find any peace in this time of chaos, but hopefully most will discover their inner peace through this journey. Peace is between you and God and can only be discovered within. When the time comes that you discover that peace within yourself, remember all that you have experienced in your life and all that you have accomplished. Remind yourself as a job seeker that you needed all of those experiences to help you become the person you were always meant to be. Take this time to discover new things about yourself and connect with other job seekers, find support emotional and spiritual, and remember there is HOPE.




Anyone who has become a HOPE participant knows that "hope" is only a phone call or email away.