The work load of the staff at our BLM office is too daunting to fathom. Through observation and participation, I have learned two very valuable lessons about science, government work, and life in general: there is never enough time or money.

Instead of bitterly swallowing this reality I’ve decided to work these ideas into my everyday life in order to make myself more humble and…less in control. I cannot live my life in complete order, nothing I do personally or professionally will ever be so neat and tidy as task A leads to B and so on. Sometimes you have to skip down to X, realize you haven’t the funds, try to allocate them while you start on M, get turned away by your not-so-charitable donors, trash project X and right after ward you find just enough excess in the budget. All of life follows this kamikaze flight pattern and the longer it takes one to realize, or accept, then the more misery one can perceive life to be.

I am probably way off track with this assessment, but I think our mentor wanted us to learn this during our time here. I think he wanted us to walk away with the knowledge that systems that are put in place are imperfect because life is erratic and unpredictable, but success is possible and attainable through 1) understanding this fact 2) bobbing and weaving, ebbing and flowing. Its a struggle everyday in my life at home and at work to “let go and let god” so to speak, but I have the BLM to thank for motivating me to try to be free.