| How are you feeling about the year ahead? I watched a group of children the other day jumping on the hopscotch game we have painted outside the Information Centre. The carefree joy on their faces as they played this simple game was in such contrast to the mood I had encountered in a conversation I had earlier with someone who had just started back at work. They didn’t want to be back and they were not feeling positive about the year ahead. Understandable! We’ve certainly been through a lot. I know it is possibly unfair to compare the joy of carefree children to someone with all the responsibilities of an adult but sometimes we need to just enjoy the fact that the sun is shining and not worry about what could happen. I am excited about what this year could bring. I know that the possibility of another lockdown still looms large with Omicron on the horizon, and in planning for events and projects we have a lot of new challenges to work through. But I am trying to look at these possible challenges as opportunities to run events and projects in new and different ways. I am trying to think creatively and my goal this year is to plan for both the best and the worst and to be ready to innovate. An exciting challenge! We have had two years where nothing has gone as we hoped or planned. By my understanding, that is two years of experience we can call on if it all goes belly up again. Think how much we have learned through these two years! Approach 2022 with the excitement of those youngsters jumping on a hopscotch game. Relatively speaking there will be challenges but maybe you will still find joy and satisfaction in the process. You will never again be as young as you are now so plan for both the good and the bad. As the saying goes: Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can….Anything is possible.And who knows, this may just be the best year of your life!  Murray Chapman Manager, One Mahurangi Business Association murray@onemahurangi.co.nz www.onemahurangi.co.nz Read the full newsletter HERE> |
