It’s tough to write anything that hasn’t already been written, with the words and phrases that we didn’t often use a month ago – “unprecedented”… “’navigating uncharted waters”… “social distancing versus physical distancing”… “new normal” … “flatten the curve” – it’s been said.
So maybe I will just highlight a few other words that we might want to think about...
Disruption and disappointment – we are all experiencing these. Everyone has had disruption to their family activities, work environment and volunteer life. It rocks our world and brings on lots of challenges – and we are so disappointed to see our efforts disappear as activities are cancelled and we try to maintain connections. Priorities evolve and we will see many changes in our Rotary clubs.
Resilience and determination – we need lots of this now and as we move forward – and we need to be supporting those who are challenged to maintain a focus on moving forward. Rotarians are known as resilient and determined humanitarians and we will need to dig deep to keep these alive!
Agility and pivots – “Business as usual” is no longer usual – what will that new “usual” look like? Rotary will not look the same at the end of this. We will need to re-introduce ourselves to our communities – and each other – and address the temporary loss of beloved fundraisers and reinforce community relationships as our typical budgets are replaced by a clean page. We will all need to think in new and creative ways about how the “new normal” might look – “it” probably doesn’t exist today and so it will take some real agility. Think of breweries making sanitizer – I’m pretty sure that was not in the strategic plan that they finished a month ago!
What’s the equivalent for us? I don’t have any answers, but I am confident that some amazing innovations will surface. Stay connected – don’t let Rotary go dark. We need to stay in touch with each other and our communities. We’ve got this!
