Dear Members,
It is holiday time again, so to allow our editor Ravit El-Bachar Daniel and assistant editors Jaci Kohl, Ann Patrick, and Michele Elliot to take their summer holidays we are combining the July and August editions of BAMBI News. The committee will take a rest in July and August and most of our playgroups are taking a rest.
As I am writing this letter, I am looking at the last page of the magazine, you know, the page that has all the expiring memberships for the month, and all the committee members’ names.
Every time I look at this page, yes, I know all 40 ladies on the committee, and what gives me a smile is that I can also recognize the BAMBI members whose memberships are expiring. Small world. In big city like this one, it is awesome that I got to meet some of you. As I look at the
expiring memberships I am also thinking that in the next two months the BAMBI committee is shifting (again). Does being part of the expat community mean that all friendships have an expiration date, or can Facebook can give you the illusion that we can continue to “see each
other”?
As we are all volunteers of this organization, a “thank you” at the end never feels like it’s enough. No matter for how long we have been here or which position we hold, at the end of the day the feeling of gratitude is there for everyone. Experiencing and expressing gratitude is an important part of any spiritual practice. It opens the heart and activates positive emotion centers in the brain. Gratitude is an emotion of connectedness that reminds us we are part of a larger universe with all living things.
Be well,
Eleni Petraki