I recently celebrated my birthday. It was a good day and thankfully the weather was lovely. The best part of all was being with my family and friends in an atmosphere of unity, care and nurture. It was an opportunity to reflect on the last year and be thankful for the good things that have happened. Even the experiences that had not been great, I recall with appreciation for having got through them.
It is helpful for our governing boards, our staff and volunteers to take stock and celebrate achievements. All too often, the ‘to do list’ gets longer, the areas of regret loom large – the things we wish we had done and didn’t or those elements where we have our achievements in our line of sight and wish we could have done better. Moments when we can be thankful, herald opportunities of gratitude, sometime serve as an oasis in the desert and can mark milestones to plan the next steps to even larger platforms. And it does no harm to carve out time and space for reflection and refreshment.