| As many of you may know, I tore my Achilles tendon and recently had surgery to repair it. I’d really like to make-up a better story of how this happened, but in full disclosure, I did this playing a relatively calm game called pickleball. As disruptive and disheartening as this injury has been to me, thankfully it’s only a temporary set back. |
| In many ways (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) my injury has been a gift to me. My wife Robin, the annoying, eternal optimist love of my life, had been telling me this from day one. Begrudgingly, I now have to agree that she’s right yet again. This injury has given me the unusual opportunity to sit still, be reflective and be more of an observer of the world around me. This is not something that most of us think about and yet it can be a refreshingly interesting eye opener. |
| The world we live our daily lives in can become a rather routine and mundane place. We tend to pass people and places that have become merely recognizable objects, void of meaning except maybe as a reference point during our travels. Interestingly enough, when you have a dramatic change in your life, even if temporary, you may start to see those same people and places differently. For instance, I now see that abandoned building on South Street and I think of the endless possibilities it has. The old man who’s always on the bench at Stewarts… could he benefit from knowing more about services available to him in our town? The dangerous sidewalk on Garfield that the home owners can’t afford to repair…maybe we could get some volunteers and donations to fix that? The word I like to use is “inspired”. The gift I previously referred to is a heightened ability to be inspired by the things you see in your daily life. The good news is you don’t have to be injured to be inspired. Take some time to look at your world from a different perspective and see what opportunities there are to create a better place for all of us. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. As a reminder, there are two ways that we here at the Foundation go about creating a better place for our community. One way is best described as reactive, meaning we’ll help when we are asked. The other way is proactive, where we seek out projects and causes without being asked – ones that we feel will benefit the community we’ve pledged to serve. Our Foundation is now six months old. In that relatively short time, I believe we’ve accomplished much together. I’d like to take this opportunity to personally thank Alex Kochon, our first director who helped us get our start…and now Sean Rafferty who has taken over without missing a beat. Through it all, our Board has worked selflessly to help us bring our vision of making the not-for-profit arm of the Common Roots Brewing Company a reality. Cheers to making our community a better place for all of us! |
