My brother says I should spin the wheel tonight. It is tempting. I am tired and it is already creeping toward my desired light’s out time of 10 p.m. Note I said my desired time–I rarely accomplish it these days. Yet I still manage to pull myself out of bed at 5:15 every morning. And yet I want to take a few moments to express some original gratitude this evening. I have so very much to be grateful for and “from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same” I cannot fully count the many good things I encounter over the course of the day. Most of the time, monumental things are not happening; so much of what is happening is internal or invisible, barely noticeable to the naked eye unless you know what to look for.
I realized yet again today how fortunate I am to work with very good people. In over 30 years of professional career thus far I have been blessed to have good colleagues in my life. I have worked in a half dozen organizations in states in the East, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and West Coast. Scattered across the country are terrific colleagues, some of whom became friends. I don’t have nearly as much contact with many of them as I once had, but I manage to check in with them from time to time. I am grateful for the continuing connection, finding that even if years have separated us and our time working together, we can often pick up where we left off. So on this day as I sat in my weekly staff meeting with this wonderfully wacky yet immensely creative, talented, and passionate group of folks I found myself once again grateful to be working with and amongst them.
The work we do is not easy; part of our work is in essence to hold up a mirror to the organization and asking questions like: how are we treating our fellow human beings, are we creating a community that welcomes and embraces all individuals of various backgrounds and identities. Organizations, like people, often don’t want mirrors held up to reflect to them the good and the bad in how they approach and care for the beings they serve. In spite of obstacles and challenges thrown their way, the people with whom I am fortunate to work every day stand strong in the firmness of their commitments and vision for the work. It’s a blessing to work with them.
I am grateful as always for the people around me, who they are and what they do. Working with them helps me become a better worker and a better person overall. For this, I am exceedingly grateful. And so it is.
