I had one of those lucky, unexpected conversations last night with a couple of colleagues, Bob Berntson, the Managing Partner of Berntson Porter & Company and Annalee Luhman, Learning & Leadership Manager for the Port of Seattle. As our talk moved from recapping the year to recapping bigger parts of our lives, we found ourselves expressing gratitude — for people, for experiences — and being conscious about it.
We reflected, too, and more generally on how harsh realities can be right now, how scared and compressed others sometimes feel, how hard most of us are working, and how we don’t talk often enough to each other personally and informally. The challenge of it seems to be in finding the time to let go and to let life come back in on its own, naturally affirming, sacred and generous. Is it too hard to do this or too easy? Anyway, the gratitude was suddenly there for the three of us like a lost art, and that was a fine moment. We felt blessed.
This morning, as I struggle with my to do list, relive conversations in my head, figure out the next move this season, I know things have returned to their crazy normal. Ah, for a touchstone to keep that art alive each moment!
