A couple of days ago I met a couple of social workers. They were dining in at the restaurant. We began chatting about the field and mental health in particular. They had been in the profession for over twenty years. I mentioned I was considering going to graduate school for social work.
There response wasn’t exactly encouraging. It’s stressful. There’s no money in it. Burn out is real.
I left the conversation wondering if this was something I really wanted to do. Work with others. Underserved communities. Marginalized populations. Mental health. Addiction. Criminal offender populations. I wondered if my future would differ from their experiences.
Would I get burnt out? Grow tired of the day in, day out emotional drain? Then I realized that their experience was just one perspective. My passion and purpose doesn’t come from a field of my choosing. It comes from a personal journey that is uniquely mine. I didn’t choose this path. This path chose me.
All the struggles. The heartache. The days, months, and years in rehab. In mental hospitals. Behind bars. On the streets. The near death experiences. To the eyes of the world these experience make me a lesser candidate. People in business and politics desire squeaky clean individuals to represent their entities with “integrity”. A criminal record is a permanent scar in these arenas.
Yet my vulnerabilities can become my greatest strengths. I’ve walked this journey. There are others who can draw strength from my story. So many people in the shadows. Hurting. Lost. Afraid. I’ve been there. This is the path I am walking. Maybe I can help light the way a little.
After the rainstorm I found the rainbow. Maybe there will be a pot of gold somewhere there. Maybe there won’t. But my journey is more than chasing material things. It’s more than finding a career. It’s about fulfilling a purpose. A destiny. The meaning behind all the tears. I’ve caught glimpses in the past. I’ve seen a glimpse in my present. Because of that I keep my eyes watching God. Asking Him to increase my vision.
Burning out implies using up all my natural energy. Putting the world on my shoulders. Finding out that I can’t carry the burden. But having faith and trust in God lets me lay my burdens down. I can cast my cares aside. I don’t have to shoulder it on my own. I have a hidden reserve of oil to burn when my supply is gone.
Scenic Views From the Bipolar Rollercoaster 