Miner Knowledge

Everything I needed to know I learned from Chilean miners:

#1 Never underestimate the strength, love and compassion of the people you work with!

I RELEASE & LET IT GO!

Driving to work this morning, I began my usual appreciation of the season changing, shifting us into a real autumn state of mind. Today it took on a whole new idea, as I thought about work. I thought about people I've seen shuffled into courtrooms in chains, in custody. I thought about when the judge orders them back to court on certain days, confirming they are to show up, even if they are released from custody. Then, sadly, I thought of Dependency Court where I've seen too many times parents who have for some reason released the desire to parent adequately, and children who are bounced back and forth in the system, a constant releasing and letting go. What is all of this about? I don't know. But what I do know is that it must be a natural cycle of life, to shuffle through sometimes, to not hold on to the way things are...forever, because they do change; and then when the season of life calls for it, to do like the leaves of the fall -- not try and hold tight, fearing the fall, but to just allow the release and trust that the wind will carry us and whatever we are feeling at the moment, whether a dead-feeling crumbly something or just a beautiful red and gold plane-like beauty gently descending.

Then I paused for one moment and remembered the evergreens, and began to be grateful, another feeling that this season ushers in. I'm grateful for that which never shifts and never changes, the real truth of who I am ,whether at work or play or contemplation -- just me being me.

A Toast!

An attorney walked in the other morning with a huge stack of documents, almost to her shoulders, and remarked, "I feel sorry for this tree that this came from. Immediately, I began thinking about the light that is flashing on my printer right now, indicating I have less than a thousand pages worth of toner left with which to print, which, to some folks, that wouldn't feel urgent, but in the reporting world, that is an a red alert, for sure.

All of this is a reminder of just how productive we are in our profession, and how needed we are, especially a few days after the governor in California remarked publicly, again, that we don't really need reporters and that court reporting is old fashioned.

Reporting has been around for a long time, I agree. It is "ancient." There are adages, referring to age, that say certain things are as "old as salt and pepper" or a humorous over-the-hill statement I've heard referred to somebody being as "old as sliced bread." That's old. And whereas we get the humor in this, we also can realize that when you have a product or an idea or a profession, mind you, that has lasted for decades and centuries, that technology has not been able to replace, it has proven its worth. With that age and stature and pricesslesness, it deserves high regard and respect, a "toast" with fine wine. There's nobody that can give that deserving respect to us better than ourselves.

Here's to Court reporters everywhere! What a vibrant, high-tech, and needed profession of the 21st Century, and ages to come! Cheers to Court Reporting!

TGI -- TODAY!

I’m convinced that the weekend is not only a set time carved out in society. It is also a state of mind associated with a great feeling. Why can’t I go “there” Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday? I notice that Friday afternoons put me in a state of freedom, bliss, a feeling that I finally can have a life. I even get a sort of pseudo feeling that I can get totally away from my job duties. I say “pseudo” because as professionals in our field, totally breaking away from job duties is hardly the case sometimes with expedites, appeals, the endless deadlines we are faced with, not to mention the eternal list of things that can go wrong smack dab in the middle of a 500 page transcript that throws indexes and page numbers way off. Argh!

Although family and friends race with enthusiasm into the weekend, our jobs continue ,sometimes to the point that there’s no differentiation between the work week and the so-called weekend . It becomes one big blurry line, unseen by the naked eye, like the Equator, and we just get to “imagine” it. So for me the question becomes how can my whole week become a more enjoyable experience? How can I capture that feeling of fulfillment on any given day, even beyond those designated weekend days? How can I move out of those feelings of fun deprivation, if you will?

We owe it to ourselves a real time out. whether that falls on Wednesday or Saturday, Tuesday or Friday, to infuse the feeling of freedom and expression all the time. We just get to track it a little differently. Maybe we throw in a movie or a nap or a phone call to a friend we haven’t connected with in a while. How about throwing in ten minutes a day to practice a hobby or a puzzle or a do-nothing, anything that will keep us in touch with ourselves just to know we are more than our careers.

Although I don’t have all the vacation time I need to go to Disneyland, and I’m not at the highest step yet to afford an Alaskan cruise, I can take in a movie, a date night with a friend or family member. I can say "yes" sometimes to the invitation instead of the standard, "I gotta work." The work will be there. We'll get it done. We always do. And just be a little more sleepy in the morning than I would have normally been. It's okay. We traded it out for a feeling of well-being in our life, and we deserve that. And for sure on that “last day,” at work or on the planet, I’m not left haunted by the thought “I should have spent more time…..” You fill in the blank. We all know we won’t fill it in with “ at the office” Enjoy that weekend feeling, no matter what day it falls on.

DOES YOUR ELEVATOR GO TO THE TOP?

It's not enough to get past security around here. You've got the challenge of getting on an elevator. I don't know about you, but sometimes I get on the elevators in the courthouse, and I want to press "Chicago" or "New York," or "Home,” or just “Get me outta here!”

As I hopped on one day, I remembered an insulting phrase that is often used, asking "Does your elevator go to the top," meaning pretty much are you mentally “there” or not. While I certainly don’t use that phrase, I was able to give it my own meaning, something I can use in my day-to-day life at work or home or wherever I find myself in a situation where I am at the fork in the road, meaning I have a choice to make, to take the opportunity to get sidetracked and distracted because of my own life crap that seems to follow me around or somebody else’s crap that causes them to give me rift.

I decided that whenever I allow any of those situations to hop into my mental or emotional elevator, I’ll just press the button that gives those situations a quick ride to the top. I’ll try and remember that I can move past this moment by not allowing it to get the best of me. I can immediately replace the anger that’s building or the insulting feelings I am experiencing with a “higher” thought, something on the seventh floor or higher! Something like, “Well, I guess I won’t take that personally. It’s not about me” or “He” or “ She must have had a miserable drive to work” or “They are really stressed out. “

Again, I get choose to rise above the situation mentally and emotionally. That person doesn’t get to determine how far I rise in my own elevator. I’ll just breathe through it and know that if and when they finally get it that they don’t need to try and make my life miserable, just because they are miserable, I’ll see’em “at the top, where I choose to hang out. Then if worse gets to worst, I’ll just take the stairs.

SAFE AND SECURE

So I get to work this morning, feeling grrrreat until I get to Security, the place whereI am supposed to feel “secure.” Why don’t they trust me? I, obviously, work here. I dress professionally, at least I did before I had to remove my belt that beeped and my boots that beeped. Gosh, when they were done with me, I felt so “stripped down,” and I wasn’t feeling that great or secure.
So what did I do? I chose to smile. I decided to feel good about the fact that this little protocol is just another metaphor for my life. Where in my life or in my profession do I not feel secure or safe? Where in my life (my profession) do I not trust myself ? What situations or relationships in my life are trying to get my attention? I can always tell because in their own special ways, they are “beeping.” As a matter of fact, I notice that the beeps get louder the more I ignore them. In what way am I my own worst enemy or “terrorist” by seeing people and situations in my day through the lens of negativity? And, finally, what can I do as a team player to help those around me, including the sometimes angry or scared folks I meet in the elevator coming to court, feel more secure? After all, they have just come through “Security” also. Sometimes it just takes a smile.
Actually, I am grateful for those folks in uniform who are so willing to look out for a safe work environment for all of us. And I am also realizing that feelings of inner safety and security is really an inside job that depends on me and how I am approaching life, my work life, how I am willing to see people and situations, and simply how much I am willing to just smile.

KICKING AND SCREAMING

It's that time again! We get to play musical chairs! I'm just getting used to being in my courtroom. I've just developed a deep appreciation for the way things are set up in there. I know where everything is in my office. I've just figured out those jokes that the bailiff tells, and, wham, it's all going to change.

At this time of the year something wild happens at our courthouse. Judges are coming back from Timbuktu, satellite courts, or whatever, and others are assigned out. With them comes and goes their entire staff, or not. Some are left behind, thrown into the sea of unknown assignments. It just all feels so inconvenient, so hard, so scary.

Change. Why does everything have to change? Why can't things just stay the way they were? It's as if work wasn't already tough enough. Maybe there's another question to consider. How can I become more flexible and just go with the flow?

Isn't my work life a metaphor for life in general? Am I forgetting that I really have a choice in the matter. I can go kicking and screaming or I can just relax and see what's behind the spooky door of shift and change. I can hold my head up and just walk through, taking only one step at a time, and not just hope. I can actually be confident that there is something good for me that awaits, something that I would not have experienced had I not said yes to the whole transition.

In this whole transition, I can still remember what remains stable: My attitude still determines my day. The way I show up at work still contributes to and creates my work environment. And, of course, I still remain grateful that I am employed can enjoy the benefits of having a job when the unemployed line is growing longer every day. What remains true is that I'm still in control of my response to life, my response to change. Instead of harboring some inner resistance and holding my breath, this time I think I'll just relax and allow it to happen.

ROLLA COASTA!

Money, Finances, Income, Transcripts – Whew! This sometimes feels like a rollercoaster. I love this job…until tax season or until there’s seemingly another effort to “save the budget” and get rid of our profession, or even until the transcripts are not coming as much as they “used to.”
What is that about? What am I in this for? What am I still willing to put in, although opinions and seasons come and go? I am clear. I appreciate this work beyond all those passerbys. I am making a pact with myself today - - to stop worrying about all of that “stuff.” I’m giving myself over to taking one day at a time and filling each moment with touching the lives of those who get that final product of mine. Everyone can depend on that final product. So can I. And for me, the final product is that I’ve, once again, done a great and necessary job.

98 PERCENT IS PERFECT!

Today as one attorney handed me back something that needed to be corrected, I am proud to say that that did not register in me as anything “wrong with me.” I didn't kick myself or criticize myself or see myself lacking in any way. I am proud to say my mind immediately went to when I was a a child and my Grandmother would write letters to me. In those letters there was always included at the bottom a simple statement, “Excuse all mistakes..”

Hey, it’s just a mistake. It doesn't mean anything more than that. I owned it, and life goes on. I am on the step-ladder and moving upward. I am growing. I am learning . I'm getting better at this job every day, as I continue to add words to my dictionary.

Why have we always expected perfection in ourselves ? Why are we so hard on ourselves and unforgiving for an untranslate or two or that imperfectly spelled name that appeared on a transcript?

Even the State Board in California expect 98 percent accuracy. They allow us a little room to be human. We're allowed to make mistakes! Yea! I am grateful for this memory.

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL.....

Exhibit No. 5

Today I realize it’s not about what “they” say while testifying in that chair. It’s not about what "he" says or" she" says while sitting in that place of honor in a black robe. It’s not about what they say from that questioning position. It’s all about what I say.

What do I say about who I am? And what do I say about my self-worth and my value in the courtroom and everywhere else in the world that I find myself?

I know that who I am is so much bigger than what I do as a professional career. I know that my talents go way beyond what my teammates even see. But while I choose to do the work, it's up to me to see myself, value my own presence and identity and role. I am not depending on others to see that for me. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall…….”

PLAYTIME!

Looking at my desk, on one side I have pencils, pens, a calendar and copy paper. I have a three-hole punch, stapler and paperclips. Oh, and then I see jacks and a ball. I have fairy dust left over from last Halloween, and affirmation cards, and a stack of pictures that I cut out of a magazine that I found, pictures of what I would imagine my dream home to look like. Is this still sounding like a court reporter's desk?

That makes me think about some early programs of Sesame Street back in the day when I was growing up. There was a song that said, “One of these things is not like the other.” It was a guessing game where you were supposed to detect an object that didn't belong in a category with other objects.

Well, guess which of those objects mentioned doesn't belong on my desk? Maybe the jacks and ball? Surely, the fairy dust, one might guess. The truth is everything on my desk actually belongs there. Those things that have nothing to do with my job are simply reminders for me to play, to take a break, to daydream a bit, to step away from the stress. In the middle of long workdays, with so much to do, so many deadlines, I can get so caught up, that I won’t even take a lunch break. I have decided I can do even better than assuring myself of a lunch break. I will allow myself some playtime. It's amazing what can be created in a couple of minutes with a little fairy dust while daydreaming over a favorite magazine. Feels like recess!

I CREATE MY DAY

Now, what kind of day will I have today? Who gets to decide? What will affect it? Who will "effect" it? There are so many Q & A's for the day. The real question is how am I going to respond to whatever happens today?

I am deciding right now that there is nothing that can happen, nothing that anyone can say, either too fast or too slow, too muffled or too angrily, that will throw me so far out that I can’t find my way back to that “home row” on that steno machine, that “home row” in my mind. Home row in my mind is where I realize that a hundred years from now it’s not going to change how the earth spins on its axis, and it’s where I realize that there’s a part of me that is resilient, untouched, by whatever happens today . Therefore I’ll just decide to relax and be joyful, no matter what!

My Employment is Good!

In this moment, I pause to remember the goodness that my job brings to my life experience. It’s good to be employed, and it’s great to perform a service that is so unique in the world and get paid for it. What a talent! What a gift! What a profession!

I am a part of a fabulous team that makes things happen – office staff, fellow reporters, attorneys, judges, bailiffs, clerks, proofreaders, scopists, attendants, associations, unions, even the janitorial services. The list is endless!

Sometimes it may seem as though somebody on the team is not recognizing who I am or appreciative of what I do, but my feelings immediately shift when I realize other people's actions are never about who I am or what I do. People are having good days and bad days, and their actions are based on what they experience in their own lives whether they are aware of it or not.

So I just keep those fingers flowing and keep my mind on doing a great job. I appreciate myself, and I value what I do. Court reporting, what an awesome adventure!

A SIMPLE ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Today I simply acknowledge my hands and fingers. I recognize and feel gratitude for the strong, easy and effortless motions that they make. I acknowledge them for the struggling efforts and sometimes downright clumsy efforts that they make upon the command of the human voice, determined to ingest every phonetic sound and syllable that moves in, around and through every fiber, muscle, cell, joint and sinew located in this mighty carpal structure to generate clear, concise, easily readable words.

I appreciate my hands and fingers, the entire orchestrated movement, the connection that it has with every voice that speaks in my courtroom. I am appreciative for the energy, agility, flexibility, strength and confidence that makes this happen for me and court reporters everywhere!

Sometimes a simple acknowledgement is all it takes to get me through "one more question" at the end of a long day.