I am thinking of my family, friends, and neighbors in the Federal workforce, as are many others. The sudden loss of engaging in meaningful projects, connected colleagues, and a known compensation package is potentially a soul-staggering experience. This multilayered loss often generates real grief above and beyond the chaos of “what’s next?” It can even lead to a sense of lost identity and paralysis, as the whirlwind of uncertainty looms directly in one’s view.

I offer two observations I hope will be helpful for some.

When booted, it is time for a reboot. Your capacities, connections, and passions are not impacted by a change of work status. This could well be the time to direct them in the way you have always wished. My sense is that there will be a significant increase in entrepreneurial energy from some highly talented people. They will find there is a real delight in delivering one’s passions unencumbered by artificial constraints of department policy or office politics. Some will from companies, partnering with their “dream team” colleagues and connections from Federal service. Others will blaze their route as a solopreneur, learning and growing with new skills and experiences while delivering their ideal product or service. Even those that fail will help transform the landscape of their interests by their efforts. I urge those considering this pathway to explore your local Small Business Development Center for a wealth of wisdom and important training and support for starting a business.

The biblical patriarch Jacob’s experience at the fork of the Yabbok River (Gen. 32:21-32) teaches us that our blessings are sometimes double-edged and can even leave us limping. Becoming unencumbered can also risk becoming unattached. It is even possible that one begins their new pathway carrying a newly acquired, life-long limp from their prior experiences. Realizing the potential of our blessings is not always easy, especially when we carry ongoing reminders of the past. That past will always be remembered; it does not disappear as time flows forward. In fact, it is important to recognize and even honor the hard feelings that are generated by some of those memories. More importantly though, appreciate and embrace the wonder and excitement that can await each and every day in this newest chapter of life. Broken need not mean unrepaired! See the kintsukuroi below for inspiration!

My local friend texted early on Sunday morning. She had received an emergency call from a friend of a friend, looking for a rabbi who deal with the loss of a pet. My name was shared. An hour later I am on a call with a person in South Florida with a traumatic recent pet loss. A displaced alpha predator attacked and dispatched a beloved pet right in front of their eyes. Seeking counseling, the intuitive thought was to seek a rabbi. I was able to direct this person to the correct support, at least as available within Jewish social services agencies.

Early that same afternoon I was in a conversation with a wedding client, but not in the context of the upcoming wedding. This caring soul happens to be a death doula, and we were discussing how I respond to a couple’s loss in the context of a wedding ceremony. We were wrapping up, but then came, “What in general do you do with pet loss?”

The conversation just hours earlier was unavoidably fresh in my mind, and I shared it as part of my response. My client expressed sympathy on that traumatic experience and then shared a link to a company that provides “veterinary chaplaincy services support when you lose your pet.” That link went to a hurting person in South Florida even before the call was closed. So, a call for a rabbi went from a friend of a friend to a friend of a rabbi who spoke with a person seeking support. Then comes the best part, that a completely different type of conversation seemingly offhandedly yielded an unexpected, unknown, but certainly welcome source of support to that original caller in South Florida.

Sometimes the cosmos just aligns.

Pet loss can have huge emotional impacts on individuals and families. Today, the loss of a beloved pet of any type is appreciated in more compassionate ways by society than ever before. If you are struggling after the death of a dear pet, please seek the resources most appropriate for your needs. Pet cemeteries abound but be advised they are not necessarily less expensive because they are for pets. Private counseling with a grief therapist, pastoral counseling, spiritual responses for grief within and beyond faith groups are all options.

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