When you are starting fresh, despite your brazen front, you are full of insecurities. Some you know, some you don't. And those insecurities can weigh you down, undercut your imagination and restrict your actions. More than you realize. Especially when your heaven seems far away.
Then someone sees you. She sees what you are trying to do. Surprisingly, she also sees who you are meaning to be.
Virginia Greene did that for me near the beginning of PLAN. She saw me. Al, these are your peers. I see you in their boardrooms. Dining with them. They've got to meet you. You've got something important to say…
To an outsider like me, what she saw was unimaginable and uncomfortable. That I could meet regularly with CEO's, senior government officials, community leaders and politicans. Yet most of her prophecy has come to pass.
Virginia died in early December and there have been many public tributes in recognition of her brilliant career in the public service, in business and as a passionate cancer activist. She was as imaginative as Emily Carr. As adventuresome as the legendary Wylie Blanchet. As strong as Sarah MacLaughlan. She is celebrated and awarded for her genuine public achievements. Equally she is loved for the populated private stories in her life. Organizations like PLAN that she escorted around impassable barriers. And people like me who she recognized into a fuller life.
You will meet today, this week, this month, this year an individual who is not filling all the space that heaven allows. Let them know you see them. And when you do, think of the person who saw you for the first time. As I will think of Virginia Greene whose spirit is now as big as heaven will allow.
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