THE WORLD OF THE POSSIBLE
Charter Night has always been one of my favorite nights in the Rotary calendar. It is pure celebration. This year I had a great time, as usual. I went home and began thinking what I was going to write about Charter Night in the newsletter. The club was celebrating its 32nd birthday, so I did some reading on what it means in general for someone to turn 32. I ran across a study someone did a number of years ago exploring the common belief that, at some point in our lives, we turn into our parents. Most of the people surveyed believed that aphorism was in fact true. They were also asked at what age does that occur. Four out of ten people (by far the most common response) said it happened when they turned 32.
I am not sure how I feel about that, either for myself, or my Rotary Club. Don't get me wrong, I love, honor and admire my parents, but I would hope to aspire to something other than to relive the life they lived. For Smoky Hill Rotary, I admire many of the clubs in this district, but I don't want SHRC to become any of those clubs. I don't want this club to live someone else's past. Heck, I don't want this club to live its own past!
That was pretty much as far as that line of thought went until I came across a line from a poem by Emily Dickinson-"I dwell in Possibility." And I thought, "Yes! That is what I hope for myself and this Rotary club." We should not strive or even allow ourselves to become someone else. There are too many exciting possibilities out there for us to create something that is unique and yet serves the ideals of service we all express through our actions and words.
A couple of weeks ago, President Elect Dave Maxwell challenged us to think about ways this club can serve the world and our community in new and exciting ways. I haven't heard much discussion about that yet, but maybe its time. Maybe its time to see what our world of possibilities looks like. Maybe its time at 32 to become, not our parents (or parent club), but the unique organization that it still can be. Let's come together and dwell in Possibility.