Day: July 31, 2025

Your feelings will fluctuate, Your well being will fluctuate Your performance will fluctuate. Your worth should not.

I saw this comment on Facebook and it made me think about the times that I have seen people of great courage dealing with horrific tragedies without the kind of emotional support that they should have received. All too often we expect people going through difficult experiences to be automatons when it comes to their everyday lives and their jobs. We don’t always give them the assistance and exceptions that they may actually need. 

I once worked with a woman who had breast cancer. She was so devoted to her students that she scheduled her treatments after the school day so that she would not have to send substitutes into her classroom. Of course she was not as energetic as she had always been but she was doing her very best to complete all of her duties. Sometimes she gave her students quiet work to do so that she might rest behind her desk and there were moments when she took longer than normal to grade their work because she came home from her treatments feeling nauseated and exhausted. Still, most of us marveled at her courage, optimism and determination to be with her students in spite of the challenging circumstances. 

Sadly the principal did not hold our view of this teacher. Instead she criticized her efforts and even threatened her with a bad evaluation if she continued to demonstrate lethargy. Ironically the administrator insisted that an active substitute would be a better alternative than a sickly teacher. Of course those of us on the faculty were stunned to hear about the teacher’s treatment by our boss. Somehow the principal had set aside the worth of a fellow human and focused instead the performance that she viewed as lacking. The administrator was blind to the incredible dedication and efforts of the teacher, seeing only superficial flaws that did little to blemish the herculean efforts that the educator was making. 

There will be times when each of us do not show our best selves. If we are worried about a loved one or carrying the pains of ill health we tend to be less like ourselves. It does not mean that we are slouching or trying to get by with shirking our responsibilities. It is only a sign that our challenges are bearing down on us and possibly even becoming overbearing. In such moments we would do well to find ways to support the person who is struggling. 

In the best job situations that I had everyone worked together. If someone was facing an emotional crisis the entire faculty found ways to ease the pressures of the job that the person had to do. We became available to step in and teach in tandem or even to watch the students while the teacher took a break. We showed the students how to be helpful as well. It was a community effort that paid off with a work environment that was forgiving and loving. It took into account the incredible worth of each person rather than constantly ranking and comparing us. 

I have known good people who donated some of their sick leave to other employees who were undergoing long term medical care. I have watched groups make plans to send food to the homes of ailing fellow workers. I have even participated in Saturday afternoon house cleaning for fellow teachers who were temporarily bed bound. Our gestures were small and took little effort on the part of each of us but they made a huge difference to the people who found themselves in precarious situations that might otherwise have left them feeling as though nobody really cared about what was happening to them. 

Our society is presently all too focused on stringent rules, bottom lines, scores and ratings. Employees are not always seen as humans but as numbers on balance sheets. We have people working multiple jobs and still struggling to pay for the basics of living. The imbalance of how we treat and value each other is growing ever more impersonal. We have all too often forgotten the importance of first seeing the worth of every single person. We speak of brilliance and power and wealth as things to pursue for a good life when in fact it is in working together and ensuring that everyone is okay that we are our best and feel our best. 

It is all too true that our feelings will fluctuate. We may be on top of the world one day and living in anguish another. Life has a way of sending unexpected tragedies our way. Just so, our well being will also fluctuate. A terrible storm may flood our home or a visit to a doctor may reveal a terrible illness. When such things happen to us it is only human that our performance will also fluctuate. We all hope that when we are not ourselves there will still be those who understand that our value has not changed and they will help us through our most horrific moments with kindness and love.