I have just returned from Wellington last night where I spent 2 nights away from my 3 kids and husband ( this is a first for me). I left him in charge and boarded a plane ( and I HATE flying) with 3 of my colleagues to head to the 2018 Catholic Convention in Wellington. I had heard my sister rave about these conventions in the past and never expected to have the privilege of attending one myself.
I attended many seminars and listened to the many keynote speakers and to write about them all would take me forever. I was really interested to hear Dame Therese Walsh Dame Therese Walsh DNZM is a chief executive and business leader from New Zealand. Her particular successes include her roles as the chief operating officer for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and head of the organising body for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand. Her Catholic upbringing and education in the Catholic system was integral to her success in every aspect of her life. Her values and morals are rooted in her Catholicism.
It was great to hear other speakers along the way but the speaker that I take away was David Wells- and I am not even talking about his keynote speech. It was a seminar on Thursday afternoon that I ended up attending quite by chance called “Cheer up, You look like you sucked a lemon.”
I was surprised to enter the room and see so many people there - especially the amount of principals I recognised. The lady introduced him and apologised for the late start and explained that the session would run 10 minutes overtime-( you should have hear the groan in the room at the thought). David started talking in his very pronounced English accent and I was instantly hooked ( I love anything English!). There were lots of thought provoking messages David delivered that day that will stay with me for a long time. Some of them are quite random! He was recalling his Dad dying and being on his deathbed. David asked his Dad which piece of advice he should heed from him above all the many times he had given him advice?. His Dad replied, ‘Enjoy life David- just enjoy it as much as you can.” He then told a sort of joke which stuck with me. It goes something like this….When we die and we get to the pearly gates- God will meet us and ask- “So how was that amazing gift I gave you?- you know - the gift of life?” David replies- Well I didn't like the Monday’s- they were awful- really hard work. God replied “Oh I am sorry to hear to hear that- so tell me about the Tuesdays!” David replies-”Oh no I didn’t really have much time for the Tuesdays either- but I did enjoy most of the Fridays- they were mostly good!” The point being that our attitude can really affect us more than we realise. If we have a negative attitude- suddenly we find ourselves hating 2/7 of our whole life ( and I didn't even get to Wednesday- cause sometimes they are not much fun either.) This might not read so well, but for me it was life changing! I have quoted this to many of my friends and family and everyone has laughed initially and then discovered the truth in the situation.
The other thing that has stuck with me is about the approach we have to going to church. We are supposed to be these very happy Christians who go to celebrate and worship the Lord each week at Mass. Yet when we are actually in Mass, we are glum- not too many of us are smiling and we ( especially me) spend a lot of time telling our children to be quiet and sit still etc. Who cares? This was highlighted by David (and again I have quoted and tried to remember this in practice- and am failing miserably I might add) when his daughter who was 4 years old at the time told him she had a new version of “Here is the church, here are the people, open the door and here’s all the people.” Her newly created version went like this- "here is the church, “Here are the people, open the door and here’s all the people- sh sh sh sh.” This rang true to me because I think we are so regimented sometimes in our Mass- and our children can be known to whinge because they have to go and be silent and conform for an hour each week- is this what God wants?- or does he want us to not sweat the small stuff and be happy in his presence? In other words- we have been given this amazing gift from the Lord- the gift of life- we need to cherish each minute and each person we encounter and laugh and enjoy the gift we have been blessed with. This has been profound for me.
I might add- that we went overtime- and hung on every word that came from the mouth of David Wells that day. I think most Principals were late for their AGM in that room and chose to stay till the end of the seminar. Sadly, I realised it had been a long time since I had laughed so much that tears streamed down my face but I did that day and I have tried to remember to cheer up and not look like I have sucked a lemon!
I was surprised to enter the room and see so many people there - especially the amount of principals I recognised. The lady introduced him and apologised for the late start and explained that the session would run 10 minutes overtime-( you should have hear the groan in the room at the thought). David started talking in his very pronounced English accent and I was instantly hooked ( I love anything English!). There were lots of thought provoking messages David delivered that day that will stay with me for a long time. Some of them are quite random! He was recalling his Dad dying and being on his deathbed. David asked his Dad which piece of advice he should heed from him above all the many times he had given him advice?. His Dad replied, ‘Enjoy life David- just enjoy it as much as you can.” He then told a sort of joke which stuck with me. It goes something like this….When we die and we get to the pearly gates- God will meet us and ask- “So how was that amazing gift I gave you?- you know - the gift of life?” David replies- Well I didn't like the Monday’s- they were awful- really hard work. God replied “Oh I am sorry to hear to hear that- so tell me about the Tuesdays!” David replies-”Oh no I didn’t really have much time for the Tuesdays either- but I did enjoy most of the Fridays- they were mostly good!” The point being that our attitude can really affect us more than we realise. If we have a negative attitude- suddenly we find ourselves hating 2/7 of our whole life ( and I didn't even get to Wednesday- cause sometimes they are not much fun either.) This might not read so well, but for me it was life changing! I have quoted this to many of my friends and family and everyone has laughed initially and then discovered the truth in the situation.
The other thing that has stuck with me is about the approach we have to going to church. We are supposed to be these very happy Christians who go to celebrate and worship the Lord each week at Mass. Yet when we are actually in Mass, we are glum- not too many of us are smiling and we ( especially me) spend a lot of time telling our children to be quiet and sit still etc. Who cares? This was highlighted by David (and again I have quoted and tried to remember this in practice- and am failing miserably I might add) when his daughter who was 4 years old at the time told him she had a new version of “Here is the church, here are the people, open the door and here’s all the people.” Her newly created version went like this- "here is the church, “Here are the people, open the door and here’s all the people- sh sh sh sh.” This rang true to me because I think we are so regimented sometimes in our Mass- and our children can be known to whinge because they have to go and be silent and conform for an hour each week- is this what God wants?- or does he want us to not sweat the small stuff and be happy in his presence? In other words- we have been given this amazing gift from the Lord- the gift of life- we need to cherish each minute and each person we encounter and laugh and enjoy the gift we have been blessed with. This has been profound for me.
I might add- that we went overtime- and hung on every word that came from the mouth of David Wells that day. I think most Principals were late for their AGM in that room and chose to stay till the end of the seminar. Sadly, I realised it had been a long time since I had laughed so much that tears streamed down my face but I did that day and I have tried to remember to cheer up and not look like I have sucked a lemon!
I am grateful to my school and BOT for allowing me the privilege to attend such a wonderful convention. Please can I go next time?
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