By Preston

It's been nothing but Benefit City since losing my job the day before Xmas.

I had pulled down more than $3,000 in bonus money before being notified that I was being laid off after more than 5 1/2 years. I added that to my severance package, and discovered that financially I was good to go for a while.

What I didn't know was where my next job was going to be!  I approached the Gohonzon every morning with nothing but complete and absolute appreciation for having changed my karma since the last time I had lost my job. I also changed my career karma too!  Unlike last time where I practically went begging for a job, this time I received two offers from two completely different industries on the same day! 

What's really interesting is that at no time was I really worried about finding a job.

I discovered that I could have landed a really good paying job, but it would have been just that ... a job. I made the resolute determination to myself to find a career. Which helped me to decide which of the two job offers to accept.

When the largest competitor of the last company that I worked for found out that I had been laid off, they came calling!  :-)

I completed the third interview with them, and then went to my first interview with an audio visual company. [As an aside, my degree is in audio video production and I fell into the photography/digital imaging side of A/V out of necessity.] My interview with the A/V company went great, and they offered me a position on the spot. The photo finishing/digital imaging company told me to call back on Monday and they would either offer me a position, or ask me to return for a fourth interview. I explained this during my interview with the A/V company, and he suggested that I take the weekend to think about it. He asked that I call him on Monday morning with my decision. 

Stay in the same tired old industry that I had been in for more than 12 years, or strike out for something new?

After weighing the benefits package, and my advancement and growth potential it was a no brainer!  Immediately after Gongyo that Monday morning, I received a call from the Operations Manager of the A/V company wanting to know when I could start!  I began work exactly 30 days after my last day on the job with my former employer in the same tired old industry, and began fresh with an exciting new career with a great company with lots of personal growth potential!

I haven't looked back.

During the 30 days that I was off, I managed to complete more than half a dozen projects that I had been putting off here around the house for years; new plumbing for the laundry room, and kitchen, I completely rewired the kitchen, laundry room, upstairs back bathroom, and ran the starter wiring for completing the whole of the upstairs. I also stripped all of the paint off of the brick mantle downstairs, and corrected some structural problems created during a 1926 remodel. 

When the bills arrived in January I discovered that I had "mistakenly" overpaid everything with the bonus money at the first of December, and I didn't owe anybody anything!  Nice ooops, neh?  ;-)

What this has meant to my practice:

A very dear friend of mine in life and in this practice reminded me that it's not the formality of how we practice that matters, but rather our consistency in our practice. 

My conspicuous benefit has been that I haven't lost any of the material things — a complete change compared to the last time that I lost my job. My inconspicuous benefit has been that when you truly show compassion and appreciation for your situation, it returns in your life three fold.  :-)

Life is good, and I'm still peddling as fast as I can!

With Metta [loving kindness],

Preston :-)