Have some time to stand and stare

I was out Christmas shopping in central London one weekday evening recently. It was pretty full on. People were rushing everywhere, heads down, bargains to hunt. And I was one of them. It wasn't long until closing time, I'd been working hard that day, and I was pretty tired. But then, just off Covent Garden, I stopped. As people strode by, I looked up. The decorations were beautiful. Now I'm not a particularly religious man, but I did have a bit of a moment, and these lines of poetry came to mind: What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?" 'So why is this little experience on a blog about the charity sector?' you ask. OK, I'll tell you. Remember to stop, and look up How much of the time, working in a charity do you feel like you're one of those Christmas shoppers, with your head down, focused on specific tasks? I know I very often do. I've found that it's so important to stop, even if only for a moment, take a step back, and remove myself briefly from the task at hand. I'm still thinking about the work, but in a slightly different way. What is the bigger picture? Why am I doing it? How can I do it better? It makes a big difference. Stand and stare awhile! What does your organisation look like when viewed as if for the first time? The more 'full of care' we are, the more we bury ourselves in our particular tasks - our mission to buy that elusive present - and the more inwardly-focused we become. So often we s