Less than healthy and the perfect pineapple punch - I do not believe in being sick. I do not have the time or energy, and winter is really to short to spend time inside feeling miserable. And yet ... well, I have been less than healthy. It snuck-up on me. One minute everything was OK and then suddenly I couldn't get out of work fast enough. I felt weak and pathetic and just generally miserable, totally unmotivated to do anything, certainly not willing to even try to troop through it and go to work regardless. I suppose another reason being sick is against my better judgment is that it SUCKS. Although sometimes you need to be sick to remember how great it is to always be healthy.

Being at home for a few days can either be hell or can be a great opportunity for reflection. The cure of winter blues is opportunity, focusing on what is right and how to get there, the cure is snowboarding and seeing friends. Moping around the house is probably not the best time to try and find inspiration - which brings me to the Kool Aid! The Perfect Pineapple Punch for the bureaucratic blues - which was what I really had (the feeling of irrelevance, of my inability to contribute - not the feeling of body aches) was "LOCoP".

I spent a whole week being revitalized in Cornwall (who knew Cornwall could be so inspirational). It was an opportunity to learn, grown and reignite my passion for the public service and life in general. Being surrounded by people who are there to learn together and being given the tools to over come issues was truly reinvigorating and part of me feels like I have joined a cult. My cult is lead by an ever evolving "faculty" to which anyone can step up and offer to support. We believe in working together, in collaboration, in listening and in sharing mental models to help develop better understandings of issues and opportunities, to developing the spaces to ensure our organizations stay people focused, become real Learning Organizations.

Funny thing is that the Perfect Pineapple Punch Kool-Aid we all seemed to be drinking hasn't worn off, there is a little bit of calming down and a reality check which I know people at work will provide soon enough, but beyond that - this new way of thinking is slowly taking over and I am glad to be part of it.

To Wave 8, I say thank-you for everything you shared with me and for an exhausting but invigorating week. I don't think the bureaucratic blues will be sneaking up on my anytime soon - but I know the perfect punch to help us, if they do. I feel like I have been on a natural high for a week and I am grateful to the people who shared that with me.