I don’t think it’s a big surprise to anyone that I’m not really into leading this Rotary club. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an honor and Rotarians are amazing. It’s me. Not you.
I’m not into being vulnerable, and it is astonishingly vulnerable to stand up there during meetings, hope that people are listening, and hoping that I won’t mess up too much.
There’s an interesting article out by Brene Brown about Armored Leadership versus Daring Leadership and how armored leaders are always certain that they are right, while daring leaders are about learning how to do it right. Thinking you know everything all the time, and the right way to do everything, is a difficult place to be.
Sometimes the knowers are so overwhelming that we don’t speak up when we disagree, afraid to be “put in our place”, or ridiculed for a lack of experience. Part of Rotary’s mission is to help lift others up, to give them the space to grow and learn. To do that, we have to respect their voices, even when they don’t echo our own voice, and we have to make room for them to have a voice in projects, meetings, etc. We have to listen and hear what they say instead of talking over them, but we also have to welcome them and their contributions. I hope you will all come forward with any ideas for service projects, networking, or ways to increase friendship.
It would be lovely if we could all really work hard to welcome visiting Rotarians when they stop by. It would be lovely if we could all be silent when other people are talking. And it would be lovely if we could go out of our way to talk to club members that we don’t normally talk to.
Connections matter. Human contact matters. And Rotary is a beautiful, safe place for us to grow and put down our armor so that we can be the best people we can be.
OCTOBER HAPPY DOLLARS
Our October fines and happy dollars are going to the Thanksgiving basket project coordinated by the Bar Harbor Congregational Church. The club has supported this project financially, and with volunteers, in the past. Last year, over 200 meals were distributed. Though coordinated by the church, this is a project of the entire community.
SPARE THE CHANGE
Just a quick reminder that the blue cups on the lunch tables are for Polio Plus, a quick and easy way for us to increase our contributions towards eradicating polio.
