Even though it is a first-world problem, one casualty of the current restrictions is the cancellation of events we’ve looked forward to; sometimes for months or even years!
In an article by Sandra Shrock called, “Power of Anticipation” she says, “A healthy sense of “anticipation” can often help energize our lives and help us get through tough times. Remember what it feels like the week before vacation? Even though we’ve got multiple to-do lists going at the same time, we’re still in a great mood and everything just seems to have a sparkle to it. Essentially, behavioural psychologists would describe our energy prior to our long-awaited vacation as an anticipation of a reward, which is enough to help power us through whatever challenges we are experiencing in the present.”
It’s been a fortnight of anticipation at Glasshouse Christian College and exciting to experience some of the rewards. Here are just three of them:
Anticipating our Athletic Carnival scores
After the Athletic Carnivals, Matt Beattie put out an email telling us the house scores so far. We were excited to see the placings but there are still more events to be run so our anticipation to find out the final results are high. Matt Beattie promised a full rundown in his report in this news week so don’t forget to read all about it in his Secondary Sports Report.
Anticipating the move back to the church for assemblies
After many months of smaller group meetings in the theatre or classrooms, our Middle and Senior School assemblies were finally able to move back into the church this week. We had been looking forward to meeting again in a larger group for some time and there was a sense of energy and joy after anticipating this move for so long.
They were significant assemblies because our potential Middle and Senior School 2021 Captains gave their well polished and inspirational speeches to their respective student bodies. I was very impressed by the quality of the candidates and look forward, in anticipation, to the GREAT things ahead for the College in 2021 with leaders like these.
Anticipating the musical ‘Oliver’
Anticipation is at an all-time high for our GCC musical, ‘Oliver’, this weekend (14-15 August). It is being held in our Sports Centre so there is plenty of room for everyone while maintaining COVID-19 regulations.
You can read all about it here but I would encourage you not to miss out on this exciting event. At a time when it seems almost everything is cancelled, this is your opportunity to enjoy a high-quality production of this Charles Dickens’ classic tale.
You can book tickets online or purchase them at the ‘door’ for the Friday night session at 6pm, Saturday matinee at 2pm or final production Saturday at 6pm.
Anticipating the future
It is challenging to look forward to events that may have to be changed beyond all recognition due to the current regulations. However, it is essential for good mental health that we continue to plan and look forward to the future.
The article I mentioned at the beginning of my blog encourages us to acknowledge that there is a richness of experience in our daily routine; things that we may have taken for granted before our calendars were fully booked months in advance.
It is important to look forward to pleasant experiences and if it can’t be the cruise you booked, then shift your focus to something achievable. We are extremely fortunate in Queensland that we have so much open to us. Let’s use the opportunity to plan something pleasurable we can look forward to with anticipation. It could be a picnic with the family, a bushwalk to somewhere you haven’t been before or just giving yourself permission to relax and watch a movie.
Mike Curtis, Principal