As part of my ongoing examination of the value of stories in coping with the current economic crisis, I admired a blog entry by Christina Baldwin, author of Storycatcher.
Noting that we are “finally facing the imperative to retool the global economy,” Christina suggests “we can assess what is happening in the larger story and design our lives to survive and thrive. We can build the path forward, story by story and insight by insight, and action by action.”
She asks her readers what stories about this time inspire you and which scare you.
Though I’ve blogged several times about stories and the recession, I keep thinking I don’t have my own recession story because the crisis has not yet affected me personally. I realize that’s not entirely true. Some of my income comes from a company through which Quintessential Careers (a parent site of A Storied Career) outsources resume-writing services. The company just had the worst sales month I’ve ever seen — thus severely cutting my income for February. I’ve observed a job-seeker psychology that I find odd; of all the times to need a professionally prepared resume, this time is huge — but job-seekers are afraid to spend money. Anyway, my little story of a smaller paycheck last month is quite puny compared to the stories of those who are truly hurting. So, I raise Christina’s questions again — of the recession stories you’re hearing, which ones inspire you and which scare you?