Another day, another shooting?

I need some freakin’ zen this morning. I wrote the same headline/lead in to my LinkedIn post, not for attention but to seriously ask, is this our normal? Daily mass shootings? I’m not sure how to process this.

When I was in corporate America, these were happening, obviously, they’ve been happening for decades but I would try to give my teammates or colleagues a moment to feel their feelings - did they know anyone involved, what were they feeling, how could I help? Most of the time, I was the only one that had even brought it up - everyone was expected to churn and burn, it’s another work day.

Unsubscribe.

When someone’s life is treated so trivially that the dollars to be made are more important than taking a moment to honor their lives, what are we saying here, that you can’t be bothered, there is work to do, you didn’t know anyone involved, this is a workplace not a support center, etc? I don’t get it.

We’re in a time that the numbers and dollars to be made are at the very highest of the priority list, with the actual human beings faring somewhere to the mid-bottom. Perhaps the people in charge aren’t cold hearted, just preparing for the robots to take over? Maybe.

In my experience, the days that these tragedies would happen made me feel even worse about the career I had chosen thus far, it felt like I was digging into and perpetuating the dangerous and toxic cycle of going about the work day, not feeling nor seeing anything outside of myself. Deadlines, urgency that no one outside of the four walls of corporate was actually asking for, besides the board I suppose.

All I’m saying is this - if the working environment you’re in doesn’t allow you to take a pause to follow basic human decency and moral ethics around a life being lost, you don’t have to stay there. You can move to another team, you can move organizations, you can start your own shop, you can stay and try to drive change - just don’t allow yourself to be judged for wanting to feel human. You deserve more than that.

Now that I’m 6ish months away from a toxic work environment, I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to explore my feelings today about today’s mass shooting and to take a moment to appreciate the fragility of life. I only hope that those souls have been set free and are helping others work toward their higher purpose.

Don’t wait for the mass tragedies - ignite your flame today, find your spark, unlock your magic.