Kanputetsu
Kanputetsu, which can be translated from Japanese as "(clouds are floating) very slowly, entreats Slow.
Brief work reference:"emotional" fundraising letters is a post from a neglected blog on fundraising innovations. This post is not really about innovation as much as it is comment on how to write an appeal letter. The discussion being speak to the heart or the head. The author writes one of his best posts here--speaks from the heart about personal experience. A particular example is: "A few years ago, a Scottish colleague had a bunch of fundraisers stand up and say: ‘Reach the heart, to reach the head, to reach for the wallet’. I think it’s a fun reminder that all of these things work respectfully together." Well, I think this a good reminder at cusp of a task I have to do--write a letter of introduction about a nonprofit agency I'm involved with. End brief work reference.
In addition to worry about what to write, I worry about how to write--often there is an uncomfortable stiffness and formality in my writing. The best guidance found recently is another reminder--"RELAX!".
In my last job, I encountered Compassion Fatigue and began looking around for escape. What I did find were ways to re-create myself & my job so that integrity could re-established & responsibility could belong to those who own it. While my dreams remain unrealized, I am walking the walk.
"I learned this, at least, by my experiment;
that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,
he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
from the "Conclusion" to Walden
contributed by Austin Meredith
An interesting twist on burnout comes from the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Christina Maslach & Michael Leiter (Winter 2005) present Reversing Burnout: How to rekindle your passion for your work, an article based on the relationship we have with our vocation.
Our surveys and interviews of more than 10,000 people across a wide range of organizations in several different countries have revealed that most person-job mismatches fall into six categories: workload (too much work, not enough resources); control (micromanagement, lack of influence, accountability without power); reward (not enough pay, acknowledgment, or satisfaction); community (isolation, conflict, disrespect); fairness (discrimination, favoritism); and values (ethical conflicts, meaningless tasks).When considering how to solve the mismatchs that bog us down, we also have to consider possible solutions. Here is a link to a NPR radio series exploring the ways some people remade their lives. The series aired its last program today, but all the reports are archived for inspiration.
