ADAM OLSEN -- So here I am back at it. Refreshed and reinvigorated with a keen sense of purpose to serve the people and place we love
A former boss of mine would always remind us as we were heading out the
door to go on vacation that we should actually vacate. It’s encouragement to
leave the work behind, not just the office. Step away physically and mentally.
Break the routine and clear the cache.
The internet turns up a couple of definitions for “vacation.” The first
is “a holiday” the second is “the action of leaving something one previously
occupied.”
This work can be all consuming. It’s quite easy for the work to
overwhelm me and if I let it, work can become the only thing that occupies me.
I remember when I was being recruited to run in the 2008 Central Saanich
municipal election, I was told that the job was about 15 hours a week. Well, it
has always been way more than that. Being an MLA is even way more than being in
municipal politics because I dive deep into things
and care deeply about people and the future of our world.
Ever since my first election, I have been learning how to assign the
appropriate amount of urgency or priority on the work or an issue. Especially
since each one flows to me and through me with exigency.
Reset, refresh, reinvigorate
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been at home with Emily, Silas, Ella
and Tui. It wasn't a lavish holiday, just quality time with the people I love
in the place I love.
While I’ve continued to pay attention to the world around me and write
about it each day, the most important thing I’ve done is calm my mind, stretch
my body, and fill my spirit with the joy and love of my family. I’m humbled by
my blessed and privileged existence and will use this understanding to fuel my
work to create a more just, equitable, loving, kind and compassionate society.
On Sunday afternoon, my calendar notifications on my device began to
remind me that it’s my vacation that was the thing that was most recently
occupying me — the thing that I was soon to be vacating.
So here I am back at it. Refreshed and reinvigorated with a keen sense
of purpose to serve the people and place we love, our home in the most amazing
place on Earth, the Salish Sea.
Thank you for giving me the space to take a little break. I look forward
to connecting with you!
Adam Olsen ... is a Green Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British
Columbia for Saanich North and the Islands. Born in Victoria, BC in 1976, Adam has
lived, worked and played his entire life on the Saanich Peninsula.
He is a member of Tsartlip
First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP), where he and his wife, Emily, are
raising their two children, Silas and Ella.
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