by Rebecca Hadeed

Created on: November 05, 2009   Last Updated: November 06, 2009

After being laid off twice in 2008, I began to wonder what on earth was wrong with me. Was I emitting some kind of radioactive wave that worked like an opposing magnet and shunned all positive karma away from me? While in my head that sounded like a good reason, there was really a dual reality in play. On the one hand, I hated both jobs from which I was laid off. It's only human that your body language and overall performance on the job, no matter how much you try to fake it, would gave you away. And secondly, it was indeed challenging to escape the rigors of a truly despicable economy at the time.

Having said that, the subsequent feeling of "liberation" after being laid off was unavoidably accompanied by the obvious downpour of stress and anxiety of how to pay my bills, rent, etc. But I couldn't help that little nagging feeling in the back of my mind, like someone poking their finger into my skull, telling me this was a sign. The universe is telling me to take hold of this event and do something with it. Forget about the circumstances in your life that have boxed you in and make something happen. The question was, what? And how? How do I make something happen when I've been existing in a bottomless pit, a black hole, a vacuum for so many years that I've lost touch with what gets me jazzed.

I realized after many months that this would be part of the journey to discovering a new path for myself. Early on during my "liberation," I took up yoga. I needed something to do just for myself that would make me feel good and not feel judged. After just a few classes, I began to feel the benefit of being completely absorbed into my practice and wanting to grow within. And now, after nearly a year of consistent practice, I've decided to complete training to become a yoga instructor.

This is where the journey begins. My mind has begun racing about becoming more comfortable in my teaching style and finding my niche so that I may be able to explore opening my own studio in the near future. This is how those latent creative juices start flowing. When you're inundated with the grind of a job that you don't quite have both feet planted into, you can't possibly open up those blinders you've got on to allow your mind to think more freely. You just don't have the bandwidth.

So therein lies the benefit of being laid off. It's not an overnight discovery. It never is. During this past year, yoga taught me to allow my mind, body and spirit to become open to receive more positive influences from the universe. Don't get me wrong. I still have a nice chunk of credit card debt to get rid of...so finding another job soon is imminent. But, I feel hope and have a positive outlook in finding a job that would better suit my skills and personality and perhaps even teach me something that would help me explore my dream of owning my own yoga studio. In the meantime, it seems that I've taken up writing as well.

I know this all sounds so easy in 600 words or less. There are other important factors in life that we all have to address and can't always just daydream our days away. But, I once heard that with practice wisdom grows and without practice wisdom wanes. Training yourself to think more creatively, openly and with more freedom takes practice. If being laid off allows you the space to do that, then that in itself, is the benefit of being "liberated."

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