My thoughts on Google’s mass layoff. As I wake up at night and see my husband frantically checking his laptop and phone. I can’t imagine the fear this layoff has created.

Last week has been filled with extreme anxiety reading stories of 12000 Googlers getting the boot unceremoniously. Some heartbreaking and teary stories. I used to think of Google not just as a corporate innovative giant but one with compassion and soul. That’s all gone in a naught!

As my Googler hubby and I brace ourselves for what the future might hold, I remember a quote from Gita.

“Detachment is not about not having something.
It is about not letting that something to define you!”

Each story I’ve read has hit me hard. We associate ourselves with the jobs we have, colleges we attend, salaries we earn, ambitions and rising up the ladder of success. But living in those alleys, it’s hard to separate ourselves from that and see life beyond all this. Only when a thunderbolt strikes, we brace ourselves for what would come next!

In these ephemeral moments we truly understand that all is illusion and what is even worse is our attachment to what has always been transitory.

We don’t know which way the wind will blow for us but in whatever way it does, we look to rebuild our lives. We must!

As I continue reading stories of people losing their livelihood, it’s the incredible resilience and gratitude of people for the opportunity they had at Google. Still I can’t help but wonder how could the company whose motto has always been “Do no Evil”, could lay off a pregnant woman right when she is giving birth to her child. There’s no end to similar tragic incidents of layoff.
Is it really that simple to pull the plug?

I know it’s easy to complain but imagine all the people whose fate hangs by a tiny thread in anxiety and trepidation.

As I try to soothe my husband by saying that I’m a Doctor and won’t get laid off, how we can actually move to a Himalayan village and do some farming and smirk and laugh in equal measures, in our hearts we both know that having each other is the greatest gift of these trying times.

We both have seen loss and grief but had never really thought that this would be something we would be forced to think about. I will admit that Google has made a name for itself with amazing benefits and an unmatched culture, but sometimes we get too attached to it. We are all humans, aren’t we? As I scribble my understanding of the tumultuous times we are in, I can imagine all those who dedicated years and worked hard, yet it was all shut down by a 3am email.

May be, we can pack the box of memories in gigabytes of uncertainty and call Nostradamus.
“Do I get to work another day?”

May be life is a flux, to touch base with impermanence, being grateful, helping others and most importantly finding more time for people we love is paramount. Because like waves when everything will go away – only love like warm coast will stay.