Unemployment

One of the side effects of the Credit Crunch is redundancy. I have been incredibly lucky so far and hope that those around me who are made redundant will soon find another source of income, or at least, understand why it has happened to them.

Although I have never been made redundant before (touch wood :P), I have experienced a period of unemployment in the past.

I returned to England from Japan six years ago and spent the first month enjoying myself, not worrying about my future. Towards the end of the month though, my carefree attitude began to evaporate. At the time, I wanted to leave teaching and explore another line of work. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but the thought of working with international students, helping them settle into living in Britain appealed to me. After all, having lived alone in a foreign country, I completely understand how important it is to receive support from the locals. Thus I sent that wish out to the universe and began to wait for a reply, albeit rather impatiently.

Instead, I received another message through an old school friend. To cut a long story short, I was guided back onto the teaching path. I then made the necessary research and sent in the required application.

All in all, I was unemployed for four months.

During that period, I fervently asked for universal guidance. I was thrown into a cocktail mixture of frustration, irritation, depression, exhilaration and finally, gratification. On hindsight, I should have put my complete trust in the universe and allowed events to unfold in its course.

I know it may seem easy for me to say to my unemployed friends to keep their spirits up and to appreciate the fact that the universe has better plans waiting for them around the corner, but I have been through a similar experience - I can honestly say that I have learnt from my four months of unemployment hell all those years ago. Last year, I had the sudden urge to give up my stable job even though I didn't have another one to go to. Luckily, something did turn up before the end of my contract. The new job turned out to be a complete nightmare - but it was a necessary life lesson for me because I learned so much about myself and had gained a phenomenal amount of self-confident from the experience. Yet again, I resigned - for the second time in the same year, and right in the middle of credit crunch. Most of the people around me thought I was mad to make the move, but for once in my life, I was overwhelmed by a sense of trust in the universe. It just felt so right to move on, despite all the surface tensions and struggles. The universe did not forsake me. I secured another job within a week - it even fulfilled all of my wishes I had asked for!

I do strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. On the surface, it may seem traumatic, but if you dig deep within, you will find the required tools to overcome those obstacles thrown in your way.