The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is truly the week where we are “betwixt and between.” It’s a time to evaluate the past and focus on desires for the fresh new year ahead. As a planner by nature, I find this time to be rejuvenating and healthy for my psyche and my soul. 2018 will be a year of redirecting my energies toward projects that create meaning for my community and the individuals who live here. For me, 2018 will be the year of giving with gratitude.
What does giving with gratitude mean? It means appreciating all of the abundance that I have experienced in my life, along with being thankful for past hardships which have shaped who I am today. It means sharing my gratitude with others through giving back in ways that I could only have dreamed about while working a full-time job, traveling for work on a monthly basis, and commuting 2 hours a day to work. It means recreating who I am to find a happier and more fulfilled self who is at peace with my place in the world.
Now that I have left the “job” behind and started Stuart Consulting, I am able to focus on assisting organizations and individuals to create meaningful outcomes. To date this has included helping to start a food shelf, writing a strategic plan for the town, planning a park renovation, and conducting a visioning session with a group of dedicated teachers at the local school.
What will 2018 hold for important initiatives to work on? Will it include starting a non-profit to promote recreation tourism in Concord Vermont? Perhaps my focus will be writing and obtaining grants to fulfill the funding needs of local projects? Or will 2018 involve working with organizations and individuals to assist them with achievement of their goals and objectives? The answers are yes, yes, and yes!
I am so grateful for my diverse, and sometimes challenging, past that has brought me to this place in my life. I am super excited about the year ahead where I will be working on meaningful projects with others in my community. 2018 here I come!
Stuart Consulting 