It seems as though just yesterday we were celebrating the the accomplishments of 2013, so when I reflect on the changes I've seen in 2014, I can't help but compare them to yesterday.
Yesterday we saw a person hired into a paying job.
Today we watch that same person leave that job in order to pursue a career that is more in step with his interests and passions.
No longer about a job, but rather about the right job.
Yesterday we encouraged a family to include their daughter, as they would any other, in the difficult experience of losing a loved one. We encouraged them by saying, "We can support them through it. We can't protect them from loss."
Today we watch as that same family is shaped by the emotional fortitude and faith demonstrated by that same daughter as she holds the hand of her dying mother with a presence not often witnessed and leads her family through the celebration of life that follows with a sense of peace and strength that only comes with true faith in what is to come.
Emotional fortitude and faith developed from a lifetime of experience and adversity.
Yesterday we thought of self-direction as a complex New York state "system" appropriate for only a few.
Today we see citizenship, authority and direction as an entitlement of all.
It is about what I want out of life, not what a system wants for me. If my desires aren't clear to you based on how I communicate, look and listen differently. I have intuition that shapes my choices.
This change, this shift in thinking, wouldn't happen without your commitment. Each of you has stepped back -- not only to allow space for people to grow, but to enlarge the world in which we live. You've stepped back and extended a hand to welcome others into a relationship that you have come to cherish.
Broadening relationships, expanding experiences and imagining new possibilities.
Share with us, expand the story, encourage others. What are your yesterday versus today stories? I look forward to your sharing.
No comments:
Post a Comment