Most of you know that I have struggled with balance for awhile now, and I post about it a lot. ALOT. I went to New York and was proud of myself that I was pushing back on doing any Stubby related work. I made a big mistake by being proud because thats when you get tested. Here is what I know about this rescue, activism and advocacy work.....People will take, and take, and take. There are plenty of people out there that will love you so long as you agree, so long as you respond to them (on time and each time), so long as you smell like flowers, so long as you are one of the popular kids and so long as they can benefit. People also expect you to be something that they are not, and they use the word leader a lot. I read several times this week what a leader should be, and this came from people that arent leaders. Its sort of like the parent getting advice from someone who has never raised kids. Sure, this person was once a kid themselves, but they arent a parent to be giving advice. Its easy to offer suggestions from the outside. While I was on vacation with my family (my mom, two sisters, brother in law, niece, nephew, great niece, great nephew, sons, and my friends) I received dozens of messages from people and they all started out the same, I know youre on vacation.... I glimpsed through messages but didnt read many. When the messages werent enough, I received text messages telling me to read my message, and then calls telling me that I had received texts. I lost two days sick in NY and while sick I was sent messages and the person with the one track mind to just get her own issue addressed knew I was sick, but it didnt matter because she is the only person on this planet. I returned home sick and the messages continued. I have barely read any. Im not complaining and Im not upset. I will get to the messages when I feel better and when I can. This post is to tell you that if you are feeling overwhelmed, if you are being sucked dry, if you are teetering on staying or disappearing, if you feel lost, if you are made to feel guilty, and if you are losing yourself - what you enjoy doing, losing your friends and family - because of rescue, activism or advocacy, I am here to tell you to STOP. They will suck the life out of you until there is nothing left for you. What will suck the life out of you? The Facebook pleas for help, the posts, the dogs in need, the people asking for help, the people needing help now, the people needing you to answer them, the people that get upset at you, the people that want nothing more than for something to be done because they dont know how to do it. I share posts to help others. This is my experience and these are my messages and my work. It isnt personal. Its WORK. And just like I clock out at 5pm daily, every day, Monday through Friday, there is a time for this, and a time for me. I suggest you, my friends, start to do the same immediately if you arent. This isnt going to kill me, and it doesnt make me. There is a whole Jo that you folks dont know because we need to keep some of ourselves for ourselves. I will fight tooth and nail from now on for my space. Dont take it personally. None of this is.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 21:47:33 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015