"You don't have to think about doing the right thing. If you're for the right thing, then you do it without thinking."
~ Maya Angelou

August 29, 2013

Who's Looking...

 by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?


Who's Looking... Glad to be back hitting the keys as I open that door to my thoughts, inspiration and passion to help you help yourself.  Sometimes it helps to take a week off in order to be in that space and place that has one available to give.  You see, I gain so much from what I share, and writing for me is truly a part of how I take care of my self.  However, when I write I have to be moved in a manner that I can effectively give to the process.  This in of itself is not always the easiest to manage, but hey Who's Looking...

As I sometimes hit a wall and question the need to keep searching, I find myself looking for that something that I just cannot see. There are many out there in the social forums that share, and thus we all provide a different source of support. For myself, I know that my approach is showcasing my own vulnerability, so I am not focused on overwhelming those that can hear me with facts and bullet points.  No, I'm coming straight to you with experiential wisdom as I tap into your own struggle, whatever that may be.  My writing is that parallel process that speaks to that inner voice of yours, hoping to help you hit the pause, reflect and breathe, Who's Looking...

As we set to close down one season, while transitioning into a new one filled with future opportunities, my hope is that you will move closer to being available to see it.  I was reminded of just that earlier, when for a moment I went to that place of question and comparison... You know that space that is more about our own stuff than what anyone or anything may be doing, so I ask you Who's Looking...  It is very easy for our outlook on life, work, relationships, you name it to be influenced by the stress and uncertainty that WE bring into it.  When we carry this intention we are not operating with a peace of mind, we are often pointing the finger (and blame) towards someone or something that WE feel is the source of our distress.  A friend of mine once told me that our state of mind is so greatly influenced by having a peace of mind. This lesson is one that I hold as true, and so I use this example as another opportunity for you to see your own opening...

I encourage anyone out there that can hear me to continue to trust where you are at, while you embrace the learning that sits side by side with difficulty.  If you have not figured it out by now, Who's Looking is that opportunity to accept where we are at without judgment or control, as we realize who we are truly competing against.  There is no need to overthink the process, you just have to trust it as you continue to be well to your self...

My hope for you this week is that my words find you available and open to what resides on the other side of your own mirror.  It's always a choice, one that will demand a level of effort that will require you to work, but let me just say... When you breakthrough that space, the change you will see is transformative, truly empowering.  May the holiday weekend find you breathing well, until the next time we cross paths...



 About Author

 

Daniel Jacob, MSW Email
Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process. More about the man behind the mission ⇢


August 16, 2013

Let It Rain!

 by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?


You ever heard that saying "when it rains it pours?"  Yesterday was an example of one of those moments for me.  The early part of the day began with a little rain, then the sun shined through, but by midday it was pouring!  This made me reflect back to a time when I should of been moving into the field of helping others, but little did I see the rain was coming, and it was pouring.  I was a month away from completing my Master of Social Work (MSW) degree.  Something I was so proud of.  My MSW represented so much to me, and in all honesty it helped to change the quality of my life.  I embraced this time with an open heart and mind, amongst the busy time in my life that it was.  I learned so much about helping others change for the better.  However, what really changed for the better was me, and in a manner that I never expected when I decided to go forward and into this endeavor.

As the sharing unfolds I'm so close, just about to achieve this major accomplishment in my life.  I was gearing towards the transition from the classroom into the field as a professional.  I was looking into potential employment opportunities, sending out resumes, going to job fairs and all the rest.  Did I mention that I was also immersed into a unhealthy, unstable long term relationship?  One that began with the attachment and connection that wants to believe that this could be the one, although deep down within in your gut, you know its not going to work out.  It was a very difficult and challenging period in my life, all while I was immersed into completing my MSW degree and looking towards finding a job.  I take full responsibility and ownership for my part, and to this day I hold no anger or pain towards the other half, but at the time it was raining, it was coming down!  I had been through this before, a much longer relationship in terms of time and I didn't want to go through the back and forth, can it work, will it work, etc., when you know it's just not meant to be.  

So, with a month left we called it quits.  It was a tough time as you would imagine. However, interesting enough I ended up doing really well academically my final semester, the best yet!  Adversity sure has its way of pushing you through when you may feel there just is no way!

My mindset quickly went from getting a job to leaving town.  I had nothing holding me here and I sure could use some time for myself.  I stopped sending out the resumes and instead I packed up all my personal belongings and put them in storage and I left the United States.  Instead of walking in the commencement ceremony to honor and celebrate this great accomplishment I had just achieved, I boarded a plane set to land in countries and locations that I only dreamed of going to.  This journey was an amazing opportunity to breathe and exhale after nine years of working, getting a couple of degrees, being in some toxic and dysfunctional relationships, and the learning and challenges that life can afford.  

My time away was wonderful, it was exactly the right decision to be made.  I had no regrets then and I surely do not now.  I was immersed into the ultimate learning experience that traveling abroad can and does produce.  I learned so much through the eyes of others when we came together so far away from our own homelands.  I wrote, read, and decompressed.  I traveled by foot, bus, boat, train, and plane.  I slept in parks, hostels, bus stations, train stations, and airports.  I even ran with the bulls in Pamplona Spain, one of the most exciting, scary, cathartic moments of my entire life!  This journey by far changed the quality of my life in a way that will always stay with me.

I returned after many months away.  I was cleansed, my mind and heart were in the right place.  Did I mention I came back with no money, no job, and my life belongings still in storage?  That was okay because all that I gained while I was away was well worth it!  I knew that I would eventually get back to that place I needed to be in order to start my career.  My passion to help others change for the better was within me, that never changed.  In fact it never has, no matter how much rain comes my way.  I honestly believe that I am better off in my career and life as a result of what I have weathered, always learning and growing from the experience of.  Let it continue to rain, I got these dance moves down!  

May this weeks writing find all of those that can here me with opportunity and choice, as you continue to breathe well in the process!

I'm dancing in the rain...




 About Author

 

Daniel Jacob, MSW Email
Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process. More about the man behind the mission ⇢

August 8, 2013

Do Your Work...

by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?



What does that mean?  It means something different for each and everyone who is reading this.  What I can share is why I chose to use this message this week, and hopefully by the time you are done reading this, it will have allowed for another opportunity to help you help yourself.  Do Your Work, yeah I've heard that before and I sure needed to hear it again this week...

As I transitioned from the weekend to the beginning of another week, I knew I was going to have much work to tend to.  I did my best to be aware of this, recognizing what was happening while putting my best foot forward to manage my needs and self-care.  You see, the act of work for me (deadlines, waiting on others, my expectation being challenged) was creating (or let me say I was creating) a level of stress and pressure that was impacting me in a manner I was not embracing well, Do Your Work.  I  found myself creating more out of something that I knew was not going to treat me well.  I lost sight of the acceptance I needed to have, understanding that everything was going to get done, not a matter of if, but when...  

Do Your Work in this case was about my commitment to the most important work out there, my self work.  Do Your Work was my most faithful companion this past week, a constant reminder that even though I was feeling like...  I did not stop the process of working towards progress.  I was right there in the midst of my challenge, but I never lost sight of my need to take care of myself.  We must always recognize that stress is unavoidable and if we have the right tools and resilience to keep fighting while we are immersed into it, then the ability to cope, manage and recover from it will help us move forward! 

May the words of the week find all of  those that can hear me available to digest, learn from, and embrace the resilient being that you are.  I am with you on this, and If I can be the one to showcase my own vulnerability in order to create an opportunity for you, well then, I guess I'm doing exactly what I should (and need to) be!  Until our paths cross again, as always may this find you breathing well out there...    



 About Author

 

Daniel Jacob, MSW Email
Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process. More about the man behind the mission ⇢

August 1, 2013

Not Everyone Will Understand...

by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?


"Life is a journey with problems to solve, lessons to learn, 
but most of all, experiences to enjoy."


Not everyone will understand...  It's yours to decide, how you see it and what it truly means that is.  We all have a story and a path that has taken us on our own individual journey.  This life learning process is where my writing takes me this week, inspired from a post I recently shared on one of my other support platforms.  There is a certain type of order that goes into how I decide and select my outreach.  I look for value, meaning that others can identify with and thus learn from.  My goal is to empower and support and my outreach reflects this.  Therefore, when I noticed that this recent post reached the hundreds, I embraced the idea that someone out there was listening and an opportunity to further empower and support was available!

Not everyone will understand...  That's OK they don't have to, but what they can receive is an opportunity to learn through your eyes in manner that will transform and inspire.  On that note I have decided to write a letter to my fellow travelers.  My own opportunity to share my thoughts on the process of this journey, one that has allowed me to learn from yesterday, so that I can live, give and receive with each new day!


Dear Fellow Traveler,

Do you remember those moments when you were a young kid and you dreamed about what your future would look like?  Where you would live, who you would love, what you would do for work, how you would get there...  Then one day you did get there and it seemed like a different dream, one that didn't look anything like what you had envisioned.  You weren't disappointed though because you had the awareness and insight to understand the value within the process that it took to move you here, it was part of the journey...

Our journey, one that not everyone will understand has endless opportunity.  However, if you are unable to see the growth, learning and wisdom that come as a result of overcoming challenge, change, and choice then you may be looking for a destination and not...  There is a reason why the path that you have been on for sometime now has lead you left, right, forwards and backwards.  You see, without the uncertain and unknown you would have completed the trek.  The only thing though is that there is no finish line, you have to embrace the journey to understand the process.  Not everyone will understand, but that's OK because what you have received is the ultimate reward.  In fact what you have accomplished thus far on your journey may have allowed you that opportunity to love, live and work in manner that you never imagined.  Guess what?  The journey is not over, not by a long shot!

Not everyone will understand, but if you can choose and allow yourself to recognize what you have versus what you just don't need, than your journey will continue to move you forward and towards... The process is exactly that, one that you must trust, be patient with, strive to learn from, give to and you will receive as you deserve.  I wish you nothing but the best as you continue on with yours, may you keep on breathing well with your head up and heart open.  Oh, one more thing and please don't forget this, life is the journey!

Respectfully,
Daniel




About Author

 

Daniel Jacob, MSW Email
Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process. More about the man behind the mission ⇢