Thought of the Week 4-25-2008
“If you want change in your life, you must do it immediately and flamboyantly!”
-William James
Change is not something that comes without certain risks. The older I get, the more I value risk-taking. I think this is mostly due to having a wife, a child, a stable job, an income, basic bills and needs. Oftentimes I forget what it was like to simply drop everything and at the whim of a gut feeling, jump on an airplane and travel hundreds or thousands of miles to stay in hotel after hotel, village after village city after city, doing who knows what from medical and humanitarian work to bungee jumping off the world’s tallest bungee tower over a lake!
This week I face my foe again… RISK. And I see the writing on the wall. Times have changed. Needs and opportunities have shifted and rather than watch a movie about seizing the day or reading a book, I am off to take hold of things that do not exist as of yet. HOPE. It’s a word lost in an era of challenge. I challenge us to remember hope and by the people we are destined to be. The leaders that we are supposed to be and in this time of loss, change and transience, to take hold of something much larger than ourselves, something that cannot be seen, let’s rebuild community.
Your community is near and far. It’s always as close as your next door neighbor and as far as your Outlook inbox. In this time of change, take risks on being beacons of hope. Speak encouraging words to others and make tons of friends.
You can start by just taking the next week to hold the elevator for that one more person. You can say hey to your neighbor as they are working in the yard. You can give a better tip to your waiter or server. You can say thank you, wave at people who let you in traffic and even simply smile.
This week, I go to Tajikistan where there was $850 million in losses due to the worst winter in over a hundred years. There were more deaths, power outages and damages then ever before and where the economy is ever shaking due to their autonomy from the Russian Federation and their close proximity to Afghanistan. As a whole, they have suffered and endured. When I think about to where I am headed, my reality shifts.
It only takes a couple muscles to smile. What will it take to rebuild a nation? Let’s each take a risk and do what we are able to do in this season and economy to spur life in our own local community. There is always a hope!
Have a great one. I will miss you next week.
dh
Dustin Hedrick
Operations Manager
Burt Associates, Incorporated