This time of year finds me creating hot drinks for the kids. There is a special delight in hearing their expressions when we add milk (or cream!) to hot chocolate or my coffee. They watch it pour in one spot and then a few milliseconds later it ‘erupts’ all over the surface. Cream works best as meets the surface with lots of curly wurlies (a technical term!). One of us always manages to spot a shape or image before it merges into one colour.

It reminds me of my impatience with change. I often hope for? expect? desire? change to be immediate. However, change often happens drip by drip by drip, slow at first, then all at once. Change is like the cream being added to the hot chocolate or coffee – it is focused in one spot and seemingly does not affect the rest of the drink. Then it pops up all over and over time merges until you can’t see the original team or organisation anymore.

And just as our kids delight in the cream ‘erupting’ and trying to see shapes, we too can delight in seeing the change emerge elsewhere. Delight is a choice.

Photo by Tijana Drndarski