Helping Each Other

Dear Exchange Community,

It’s hard to focus as I sit down to write today. My thoughts are with so many in our early childhood community who are coping with multiple challenges. I’ve just finished a call with a friend dealing with the devastating effects of severe fires on top of the ongoing challenges of the pandemic.

What can I possibly write that will help, I’m asking myself. What can we at Exchange do?

On my desk is a copy of Holly Elissa Bruno’s book, Happiness is Running Through the Streets to Find You. Opening it randomly, I find this line: “Loving requires surrendering the illusion of control.” And, on another page: “When I am hurting, I ask for help. When I am happy, I share my joy.”

Perhaps these simple, yet profound words, hold the key to how we can respond when the hurts of the world feel heavy:

Ask for help. Give help. Share joy. Grieve. Find reasons for gratitude. And keep loving.

Surrendering the illusion of control means we choose to keep loving people even when we can’t “fix” things for them. It means we choose to keep loving life even when we can’t make it bend to how we think it “should” be. It means remembering that right now children are still laughing, kindness is all around us, the sun keeps shining, and tomorrow is another day.

I know we at Exchange don’t have the power to fix everything for you, but one thing we can do is keep sending you our love and encouragement.

Nancy Rosenow, Exchange Publisher, on behalf of the entire Exchange Team

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.

© 2005 Child Care Information Exchange - All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Return to Site