Implementing Water Management On A Flood Zone Armed With Nothing More Than A Spork

“Damn it.”

This was the thought that crossed my mind at the end of a very long day after realizing I still had to write a blurb for a group post at ArtsHacker about what I’m grateful for as an arts manager. And yes, the group post was my idea in the first place so the whole hoisted by one’s own petard thing was very much at the forefront of my mind.

Perhaps needless to say, gratitude wasn’t.

The entire day felt like an exercise in implementing water management on a flood zone armed with nothing more than a spork. In fact, that was beginning to feel like a good way to sum up all of 2017.

But then my path crossed with a colleague and that one simple interaction helped change my entire outlook. That’s when it dawned on me that 2017 is a year confirming our strength comes from collective effort. Finding opportunities to make someone’s day better is a good way to approach the recent round of challenges and the better we do, the more likely we’ll inspire those we come into contact with to do the same.

If nothing else, perhaps that’s the best way to sum up gratitude for 2017: it’s a team effort.

What are you grateful for in 2017?