Community Newsletter | 9th December 2020

Alderney | December 9th, 2020

Dear Friends,

When things go wrong and plans fail (as they so often do in our sector) it’s so easy to get swept up in that negative swirl of energy. It almost seems to feed on itself! The hardest thing I did this week was grit my teeth and work really hard to calm my mind and then use ‘positive affirmations’ to help change my thinking. Even though at first I didn’t really believe what I was saying! This sentence was especially powerful…

“I accept my past mistakes and let them go.  They do not define me. I move forward with confidence in my essential good judgement.”

and

“I practice gratitude and joy.”

Having said this second sentence – I realise how infrequently I actually do, “practice gratitude” – which to me is thinking of and (ideally) writing a list of all the things I have to be thankful for. When I really get going I can fill pages and pages of these gratitude statements. It’s just that I forget – getting caught up and distracted by thoughts that really don’t serve me or my purpose.

What do you do to respond to challenges so that you recover stronger?

I think I’m building up to a New Year’s Resolution – to practice gratitude as often as I remember to do so and to always do so when I start to feel drawn into ‘reacting’ to disappointment. I am so grateful to you all out there – just for being there for me – for us – through these tough few months. Although I hear directly from just a handful of people every week – I feel the support of the community as a whole – constantly. Next week I will be sending you an annual round up of this strange year which has brought so many vital insights and new energy. Highlights for Children for Health this week include:

• Deepened connections with prospective partners in Nigeria, Mozambique, India and Kenya;
• New volunteers coming into our lives and getting going with important activities;
• Some of our materials being translated into yet more languages!

On the blog this week…

• WHO Report on Vision October 2019
• Children for Health and Kaizen
• Inside the mind of Tedros | 10 Key Points

Thank you! Clare P.S. Enjoy this photo of my swimming group emgering from the sea. I am grateful to live in such a beautiful place!