| Recovery and Growth - 1-6-08 |
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Recovery and Growth - 1-6-08 There are a few days throughout the year that simply call out for rest and relaxation- New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Labor Day to name some. The fact is that each week is supposed to have built into it a day of rest. Sometimes people follow this rule and sometimes we do not. With so much going on, it sometimes is difficult to keep a little relaxation in the scheme of things. Recovery and Growth activities at all levels are daunting tasks and certainly take a toll on each of us and getting a little rest is a good thing. Resting is part of virtually every aspect of our optimal functioning. Now days even our computers, cell phones, and copy machines are programmed to rest on certain hours. A little bit of rest provides an opportunity for us to recharge but also allows us to take note of what has been done and to identify how our plans and goals are progressing. Runners who finish a race, often enjoy a post-race rest period and talk about the race experience, or when we finish a music recital, we enjoy a review of the performance, or when we finish washing the car or cutting the grass, we make have a cold glass of tea and admire the shine of the car or the freshly cut lawn. The year's end allows us a time to do a quick review of all that has been part of the previous year. Many people get motivated to make new New Year's resolutions. If you are anything like me, just staying aware of what is left to do from the previous year will keep this year's list full enough. Reviewing St. Bernard's Recovery and Growth plan is part of the year community year end process and the annual follow up to that will be released soon. There have been incredible amounts of work in designing, planning, constructing, and researching that has moved our community Recovery and Growth toward completion. But on an individual level we must remain mindful that we are more important as a people than all of the projects that we work toward. To accomplish all of the community recovery projects at the cost losing ourselves for is not a worthy trade. We are different today than we were a year ago. The real value of a rest period is to figure out what is different and have our changes been for the better. Our life experiences come at us from all different directions and all different paces, some we create and some are put on us. The way we choose to deal with these experiences influences the changes in us over any period of time. So when we take the time to take a look at ourselves, we can see what has changed since last year and whether or not it will help with the new New Year's list or at least help finish last year's list. Keep in mind that we are all works in progress. And just like the Recovery and Growth projects around us, we are just called to figure out what is left to be done. God is not finish with most of us yet. God Bless, |