Embracing Change
By Susan
Dear Friends,
My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Spain where we were fortunate to be able to visit several cities including Madrid, Seville, and Barcelona. The break was a great opportunity to clear my mind, renew my energy and also travel with our daughter and her husband – who currently lives in London, England.
Traveling with your adult child and his or her spouse is an entirely different experience than traveling with just your adult child. Many know that a parent is always a parent and it is easy to slip into familiar roles when you are with your family unit. However, when your child becomes a partner it shifts the relationship. For the very first time, we were four adults traveling together. We chose the places to visit and they chose the restaurants – needless to say, we ate well!
I reflected on this shift many times on the several train trips we took across the country - we are a close family and as we moved into new territory, I believe we became even closer. In other words, the ties that bonded us together originally became even stronger when we respected and embraced the changes between us.
Embracing the Changes Between Us
Every article I have written to date, in some way has been about change – the need to change, embracing change and now the positive effects of change. Too much change? Too little change? Trust me… it’s a balancing act!
“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” —Deepak Chopra
Well, we certainly aren’t in a state of chaos but we are in the midst of great change. Our physical site - changing, our summer operating model – changing, our governance structure – changing, my conviction in the value of the work we do and the impact we will continue to make – UNWAVERING.
Transformational change happens so slowly that sometimes it is only in looking back that we realize how much we have accomplished. Do you remember as a child watching a caterpillar spin its cocoon and it just seemed to take forever before anything happened? Then suddenly a butterfly was flying around inside your container. Transformational change - right before your eyes yet it was only truly appreciated when the butterfly appeared.
I can only begin to imagine your questions, perhaps your excitement or even impatience(?) as we unveil a new Summer community life model and as our land development progresses. I, at least, have the benefit of being a little bit closer to the metamorphosis, even spinning the cocoon. So, I use this space in our newsletter to continue to share information in the hope it will ignite your excitement and answer at least some of your questions.
Our Board Chair provided an update on our Land Development process in December and our next newsletter will provide another in-depth report. Our Spring program calendar was received well by our local community. We recognize that travel in the winter months via automobile, for those who don’t live near the Centre, is unpredictable, so a number of our programs in February and March have been directed towards our local Community. While we have seen a pick-up in interest by other charitable organizations and associations using our space for leadership retreat opportunities, marketing and outreach will continue to drive our activities for our personal retreat and Spring program offerings. Our summer program launch was much anticipated and has been received with great enthusiasm. I base this on the number of positive comments we have received and the fact that we are tracking very well against our expected registration benchmarks. Of course, we have also had follow-up questions and a drop off in our camping reservations. None of this is unexpected. Our business model reflects expected fluctuations but we hold strong to the value of building a stronger community life experience for onsite participants. Therefore, a drop off in guests who only wish to camp was anticipated.
Yes, this does segue back to my family vacation in Spain. Let’s look to Europe for great examples of cities or buildings successfully preserving historical monuments and being bold enough to create new masterpieces. It is inconceivable that when Antoni Gaudi started to build La Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona over 140 years ago that he comprehended the methods that would be used to bring it to completion 7 years from now. His vision of a place of inclusive worship did not change over the last hundred years but the actions and methods required to achieve that vision changed as advances were made in engineering, architecture, and technology. Its continuing success has been dependant on adapting to those and many other external influences.
My family has changed. We have gained a wonderful external influence known as a son-in-law and we have gained new interesting traveling companions. I will undoubtedly have days where I will miss the comfort found in the original three of us, but I now know that our lives are much more enriched by embracing the changes between us.
My friends, how great it is that the world continues to adapt and evolve – you are our wonderful external influencers and as always…
You Belong Here.