How we learn from our children! This post was inspired by an act of my daughter. When her mum arrived at work today she found this simple note written on a serviette in her bag. Simple. Real. Kind. Thoughtful. Loving. It is easy to get disheartened with the world today. There is almost a danger of becoming desensitised to the daily news of turmoil in various countries. Women, children and men are being killed daily by conflict. Hospitals are being bombed. The internet for all its advanced technology has brought out people who are angry, fearful and bitter. Sometimes loving kindness is mocked, seen as a weakness or laughed at. And yet simple acts of loving kindness happen every day. You see it through volunteering. You see it through community building. You may have heard the following story before but if not: Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he
I recently heard from a colleague who I hadn’t spoken to for a while. Though she lives on the other side of the continent that is Australia we connected through online forums on volunteer management and she published a few articles on our profession which I felt were excellent. Sarah (Which is not her real name)* has been a Volunteer Manager for years. Working in a well-known organisation I thought she was thriving. Then I found out she had resigned at the start of the year. I found out when I enquired that I had not seen her on forums or writing for a while. Sarah told me that she had resigned and was considering a new career in a new industry. I asked her why. Her short reply had me staring at it for awhile “I got tired of feeling that I was invisible” Why was I shocked – after all I had often heard similar sentiments from people in the sector. But I don’t think that anyone has described their position is such a stark and awful way. I was also shock because I had seen wha