A few days ago, an Amazon package showed up on my porch. It was for someone who does not live in our household. I would have been happy to take it to the correct person myself, except the address label was sheared off on the left-hand side so I couldn’t figure out the address. I tried online directories and local social media, but couldn’t track the person down.

Eventually, I contacted Amazon customer service and gave them the tracking number, asking if they could send someone to pick it up and take it to the intended recipient. Turns out they don’t do that. They said they’d send a new one to the customer and I could keep or dispose of the package as I saw fit.

I could tell it was a book and joked about it being a gift from the universe. Then I opened it and saw the title: Overcoming Compassion Fatigue, a Practical Resilience Workbook.

If this is a gift from the universe, the universe is extremely on the nose. My day job involves working with the public a lot. Like a lot a lot. After years of cuts in social services (and now basic human rights) in my state combined with three years of pandemic, the public isn’t doing so well. Many of the people with whom I interact are stressed or even in outright crisis. And there’s only so much help I can give. I often go home from my shift exhausted. Part of that is on me — I allow myself to absorb the emotions of others. Burnout seems about half a step away lately.

I’m not sure whether I believe in divine intervention. But whether coincidence or cosmic help, I’m willing to accept it with gratitude. I finally cracked open the cover today. It can’t hurt to see what the book has to say.

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