The best part of my job was losing it

Don’t get me wrong. I loved my job, my co-workers and the mission of my work. I’d even imagined my company being “the one” I stayed with through to retirement.

But fast forward to a potential merger of “A” and “H” with the ensuing financial fallout, and “adjustments” were necessitated at the agency. Mainly, my position (and several others) was eliminated.

I’m one of those annoying people who say, “Everything happens for a reason.” I believe, and my life has proven, that I will find myself in a better place. If not immediately, at least in the not-too-distant future.

The last time I landed myself in this position – without a position – I booked a 5-day, 4-night vacation to Mexico. It was 18 years ago, before the virtual bloodhounds of social media, emails and cell phones could track you down, back in the days when you could truly disappear.

I wanted to be alone with the beaches and my thoughts, to decide my next professional move. I’d always fantasized about freelancing but was frightened by its unsteadiness and lack of benefits. One day while walking on the sand, I saw a beautiful shell just as a wave washed over it. I waited for the water to retreat before picking it up, but the shell disappeared, gone with the foam. The ocean had taken it back.

That’s when I decided it was time to give freelancing a go. I had three months of severance pay to get me started, and for the next two years I cobbled together an existence: copywriting for agencies, editing for book publishers and teaching for community colleges. I found myself in a better place because I opened myself to possibilities I wouldn’t have seen before. I found opportunities, and opportunities found me.

So, on this, my second day of unemployment, I don’t yet know why I lost my job last week. But I can tell you this, it’s a really good reason, and I’m looking forward to finding out what that reason is.

Originally published on LinkedIn, February 2, 2016.