Director's Wave | Volume 5 Edition 12

Dear CIS Community,

Something to Ponder

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” - Oprah Winfrey

Next week, Thursday, is a day of thanks in the United States of America - fortunately, giving thanks transcends national boundaries. Indeed, the Cayman Islands Thanksgiving is early next month.

Times of sharing, thanks and celebration often involve food. For example, in Cayman one might bring Cayman Style Beef to express thanks. Our neighbours in Jamaica might bring ackee and saltfish to a celebration of thanks. In the UK one might bring shortbread. In the US a meal of thanks might involve potatoes, turkey and a family casserole. Wherever you may be from, we have much to be thankful for in Cayman. It is clear that on island there is a periodic palpable low grade hum of anxiety from time to time -perhaps due to concomitant factors including; disruption of lives storm season, rise of mental issues on island (noting that in 2023 in the Cayman Islands there was a 72% increase in people admitted to hospital and over 40% of compulsory school-age students in the Cayman Islands report anxiety and / or depression), media / news from around the world and more. Despite the above, we still have much to be thankful for, not to mention the arrival of cool breezes today.

Forbes Magazine lists the following as top ten things to be thankful for,

10. Humanity

9. Freedom

8. Teachers, Mentors, Coaches

7. People Who Serve

6. Simple Taken For Granted Privileges

5. Modern Technology

4. Wellness

3. Disruptive Honesty

2. Hard Times

1. Good Friends - Good Memories

Thanks / gratitude is one of the few things in life that can be truly shared. For example, today, I shared a cupcake with a colleague. The cupcake was red velvet with chocolate icing. While this was lovely, in theory the cupcake was not wholly shared (I had half and my colleague had half). Thus, in reality, my sharing resulted in me having 50% less of the cupcake. Keeping with the cupcake analogy … Gratitude and thanks is different and can be shared wholly. When one gives thanks, a person does not lose a portion of their gratitude. For example, when I share thanks I do not have 50% less thanks, I still have 100% thanks and indeed the other person gains 100% of this thanks. Thus, being thankful can be fully and wholly shared. With this in mind, may you find the time this weekend, next week and for the remainder of 2024 too - to share a thank you with acquaintances, colleagues, friends and family.

Sincerely,

Jim Urquhart

Director - Cayman International School