For most of my life, I’ve done things in my own way. In fact, when I joined the voluntary sector and, without thinking about it too much, managed charities for which there was little precedent, I did just that. They were challenges I relished and I took to it like a duck to water.
Yet, despite this, part of me worried that I would be able to earn a living doing it. So much so that I can remember one late night conversation in which a friend and I were discussing just this in relation to, what were then, the emerging city farms. His response was that, not only were we walking the road but that we were designing and building it as we went. Well, we didn’t do a bad job as such projects are now a normal part of the landscape. It seems that I needn’t have worried after all. Unfortunately for me, this only served to confirm to me that this was the way to do things; something that was even further reinforced with my next charity and others along the way. Yet, on a personal basis, I do know the value of having someone to help you to see the wood for the trees. Indeed, I’ve had someone to do that for me for many years.
Recently, however, I’ve extended that to the professional side of my life; a real first for me. What I’ve discovered is that just the help and advice I give to others is also available to me. All I had to do was ask. It’s rather like that schmaltzy film “Field of Dreams” in which Kevin Costner is determined to build a baseball pitch miles from anywhere. His response to the naysayers is “Build it and they will come”. Seems like that applies to help and support. Perhaps that should read, “Ask and they will help”.
So this is a thank you to those who help me to keep my faith in the inherent goodness of others; something that is in even greater need in these very trying times.