Author: Jojo Varona
This year has been a difficult one for many people and practicing gratitude may be tough. The upcoming holidays are usually the time for gathering with family and friends, going to multiple holiday parties, exchanging gifts, and reflecting on the past year.
It is difficult for everyone not to focus on things that we are missing, friends and family that we are not seeing, and places that we are not going. But I think that this year, more than ever, it is essential for us to give thanks for what we have and not dwell on what we don’t have.
At The Job Shop, we send out an email to our staff at the beginning of the week to check in with everyone – what happened the previous week, what’s in store for the upcoming week, tasks to finish for the week, and things that we are grateful for. Every week I look forward to seeing what my colleagues give thanks for and really appreciate the responses from everyone. It doesn’t have to be anything big or life-changing, but it gives us all a connection with everyone. Someone the other day wrote that they are thankful for sitting by the fire and having a nice drink. Another one wrote that they are thankful for the rain that we were getting. One other colleague wrote that they are thankful for cooking more during this time.
So I thought I would share the things for which I give thanks.
The Job Shop – For 22 years, with the leadership of Liz Frome, The Job Shop has helped thousands of people find work and many of those people we’ve placed have become our friends. We’ve seen the changing job market throughout the years (both good and bad) and Liz has been able to look ahead and change with the times. My colleagues at The Job Shop also deserve special thanks. Everyone pitching in, exchanging ideas, and working as a team has been energizing and has given me hope that we will get through this challenging time stronger than ever.
Friends and Family – They are the backbone of everything I do. It is tough when I am not able to see my friends and family on a regular basis but regular ZOOM calls and the occasional socially distanced gathering have been a great balm for the soul.
Exploring San Francisco – As a San Francisco native, I sometimes take for granted the beautiful City in which we live. I have been taking advantage of the many different hiking trails and neighborhoods that San Francisco has to offer. Since there aren’t many tourists around this is the perfect time for all the locals to go to places that they have not been to in a while because of all the crowds. Take advantage of the smaller crowds and go to different neighborhoods and support the local businesses that are there.
Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney +, HBO MAX – I’m probably missing something, but yes I am thankful for all of them. I have seen so much content in the past year – Schitt’s Creek, The Boys, Normal People, The Queen’s Gambit, The Mandalorian, Pose, Russian Doll, are just some of the shows that I’ve watched and enjoyed.
How about you? What are you thankful for this year? What are the things, people, ideas, shows, music, are you appreciating right now? We will all get through this time together and we will have many more things to be thankful for in the coming years!
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