“This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before.” – Maya Angelou
This beautiful quote reminds me to look at each day with a fresh perspective. Happy New Year! Thank you for an amazingly successful Sleep Out season and the gift of getting to know you better during my first year as Executive Director.
With the new year comes new opportunities for connection, learning and becoming the best we can be. As we say “goodbye” to 2021, let’s strengthen our attitude of gratitude and get even clearer about the positive change we can make in our community, together.
Now is the time to be open to change and listen for the learning opportunity in all we do. It is in the looking, reflecting – in the refreshed thinking – that we can reset our attitudes, our circumstances, and we can strengthen our community together.
I have learned that maintaining an attitude of gratitude is not just a daily reset but some days an hourly or even minute-by-minute decision. Living gratefully is a choice: Gratitude for a new day as we wake up each morning. Gratitude that we have a home with heat, electricity and food on the table. Gratitude that we have a job or good health. These are all things I appreciate every day. Gratitude gets us closer to our goals.
And, I am grateful for this incredible community as we walk side by side during perhaps one of the most difficult times in modern history. Now is the time to stay connected even when we can’t always be physically in the same space. Now is the time to honor each new wonderful day while also paying attention to the struggles we witness and experience. Now is the time to believe in and build a better today and a better tomorrow, every day.
Your ED,
Kevin Ward