Good afternoon, and I hope the sights, sounds and smells of summer are emerging whereever you are (or that your winter is not too harsh if you are reading this below the equator!)

It has been a very busy couple of weeks in my world, and I'd imagine for you as well. At CUSource we said good bye to some collegues this week, and have welcomed some new faces to the team. These times are often filled with a mixture of sadness and regret, as well as excitement about the possibilities in the coming months. I do though want to acknolwedge the sadness I feel in the loss of my colleagues from the Vancouver, Regina and Halifax offices; I know you will all land firmly on your feet, and wish you each a grand adventure.

I know also that two credit unions in BC here have experienced the deaths of colleagues and friends in the past week. I was reminded then, in conversation with one manager this morning, that in the business world, we very often try to "keep smiling" in the face of such adversity. A friend's mum describes it as "swimming like a swan," legs moving very quickly, but everything above the surface is apprently serene. I offer a challenge to this kind of thinking. If you have faced a job loss, if you have faced a death, if your personal life is challenged, it is ok to grieve. It is in fact vital for your continued health and vitality that you do grieve. (You don’t have to do that at work, although, creating a place at work where it is ok to grieve privately can be a very good idea.) But grieve you must. The cost over the long term; hypertension, irritablility and even depression, can by staggering. So, if you are facing a very difficult loss, don’t try to hide from it, being a swan will work for a short period, but over the long term, it's better to grieve.

This week, I hope that each of us finds the space we need to grieve, and then the space we need to move forward.