We are Hull in this together

A moving target is harder to hit

My weekends used to be a just recompense for living my best life during the week. Now, with 3 young'uns to keep entertained and nourished, it feels more like another type of work (remember how the reward for work is more work?). There are loads of positives though (other than finding out that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger) as you’ll soon see. 

One such positive is watching my 7 year old son take his swimming lessons which feels a bit like therapy for me. After a long week, it offers an opportunity to reset, accompanied by the warm air, and the occasional water splashes from enthusiastic kids plying their trade under water. On this occasion, I noticed my son’s instructor was providing some one to one feedback as he made the transition into swimming sans his floaters (proud dad moment!). Later that day, my son revealed he had been told to keep on kicking on with his legs even when he dipped his head under water.  

How often do we let go of the very fabric of our essence when under water and survival, not thriving, seems more important? We can often stop making time for the people that matter and the activities that replenish us. This is a call to refill our cup for we cannot give what we do not have. 

I am because we are

This year’s Black History Month calls us to honour our communities. We can trace the word community to its Latin roots meaning “fellowship, society, public spirit,” derived from what is “common, shared, public”. And there is so much that we share – faith, hope, love – although traditional societal practices often constrain us to focus on our differences. In this podcast, the speaker highlights how the difference within an individual is often greater than the differences among us. Hence the challenge lies in creating psychologically safe conditions that allow us to become the best version of ourselves and bring our authentic selves to work.