There was a Seinfeld episode, if I remember correctly, where the theme focused on Jerry Seinfeld always coming out even in the end. I don’t really want to go down a Seinfeld rabbit hole to look it up, but I’m 100% certain I saw this. It made such a profound impression on me that every time I find myself in similar circumstances, my mind plays the snippet of episode I can still manage to remember.
It comes up a lot in my life, because for some reason, I seem to have been blessed with the same karma. In 2017, when I was unfairly dismissed from my job, I wound up getting a much better paying one with weekends off and free top shelf health care. Then, when that place went belly up and robbed me out of two weeks vacation pay, I got the job at Tesla. That job pays better than the one before and, because of some unforeseen snafus with the building department, I was paid for two weeks where I didn’t work.
Now, see how I always even out?
If that wasn’t cool enough, the people I work with at Tesla are so much nicer, it’s way more co-ed, and closer to my house. The whole thing is rather shocking actually. The job at Yellow Freight was not only terrible, but it was beginning to have a negative impact on my health. The stress of driving a rig in the presence of the clueless for so long, the toxic work environment, and the long hours all resulted in blood pressure that was off the charts. I mean, numbers that would scare most people. 150 over 90 something if I remember right.
The job at Tesla is so low stress, it’s almost as if my higher power was looking out for me.
That is, of course, if I had a higher power and it was the kind of entity that took stock of what I was doing for a living and decided to move some of the pieces on the board. Tough call. Hard to say. Perhaps we can table all the magic thinking and just say “my karma came through.” That, at least, doesn’t give me the icky feeling I get from starting any sentence with the phrase “higher power.”
It is a well worn idea that people see only what they are paying attention to. I never knew Lexus had a hybrid car, but after I bought one, I saw them everywhere. So this anecdote I am going to convey may just be a result of what I look out for, yet it is important just the same.
I was in the bagel store one morning this week and some guy was standing on line getting ready to order and the woman behind the counter complimented his Narcotics Anonymous sweatshirt. “I had mine on this morning, I took it off when it got too warm.” Well, the customer did not want to engage in conversation with this woman because he either felt like his station in life was a bit higher than hers or he felt like he had better teeth or whatever. You know when you just get that vibe from someone? I got it with this guy.
The problem I have with this is that it goes against everything that program is supposed to be about. Chances are, she was a newcomer. He was probably “clean” for more than ten years. I get the whole thing with not wanting to have a public discussion about one’s relationship with illicit substances, but perhaps don’t wear a shirt that announces that you’re part of an anonymous program. Because I believe the anonymity part might depend on not advertising that you belong to this group. Remind me to fact check that. Either way, it was a horrible thing to have to witness and it reminded me of why I stopped going to meetings.
Now, I haven’t written anything derogatory about 12 step programs in quite awhile because I know that it really gets under people’s skin. Not to mention, this scene at the bagel store was more a function of “people being people” than a commentary on the program. I’ve come around to realize that NA and AA have saved countless lives and, although far from perfect, it’s available, it’s free and it does work for thousands of people.
You’re going to see jerks everywhere. They’re at church, the yoga studio, the supermarket and the drug store. But you’re also going to find the kind, the caring and the empathetic. Like I said, we see what we are looking for. I know, for myself, my life improved greatly when I stopped being so quick to find fault with things–most especially the program.
Things in my life became much better when I found this acceptance.
Or, then again …maybe it’s my higher power.
Entirely relatable! Glad your new job is going splendidly. My higher power is my cat, he is far wiser than I.
Yes, there are jerks everywhere and also good, kind, compassionate people too. Great piece Billy. I am enjoying my weekend reading from you.