In my last message as President of the Tuxedo Park Community Association, I wanted to take the time to thank all the wonderful people that have touched my life over the last 3 years. Serving as President has been one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences of my life. I am without a doubt a better person for it, because it helped me to be more open to receiving love.

“This is the art of courage: to see things as they are and still believe that the victory lies not with those who avoid the bad, but those who taste, in living awareness, every drop of the good.” ~Victoria Lincoln

I came across this quote the other day and I think it beautifully expresses the secret of our success over the past three years. We went from seriously considering closing our doors in 2013 to today where our operations have the strength to be the foundation we need to help Tuxedo Park reach its’ full potential and to grow even stronger relationships between neighbours.

If you ask me how we did it, my answer is simple. We did it with LOVE. We were courageous, yes. But it was our willingness to gradually open up to the LOVE that was being created from our heart-felt efforts in service of our community that provided the fuel for our courage.

Love for our community is what first gave Shannon, Chrystina and I the courage to fill the shoes of those before us. That same love then kept us going the first time we said to ourselves, “Holy @%$#, what have we gotten ourselves into?!” The longer we trudged onwards, the stronger our relationships with each other grew. Before we even knew it, we created this safe space where we could fearlessly be ourselves. When we disagreed, our shared vision for our community and our respect for each other helped us to have the tough conversation needed to determine what was best for Tuxedo Park. When one of us was down, another would pick up the slack. If one of us made a mistake, forgiveness was quick and authentic. We accepted each other, flaws and all, and we trusted that we were always doing our best.

What made our experience feel almost divinely-inspired and blessed was, every time we were on the verge of giving up a new talented, committed, inspiring and passionate person would emerge. Our love for our community may have initially brought us all together, but it is our deep love and respect for each other as valuable and wonderful human beings that made our community association what it is today.

So THANK YOU Tuxedo Park!  You taught me that if you want to go from a life that feels like you are barely surviving, to one where you are thriving, you have to open up to LOVE. Accomplishments, achievements, sacrifices, everything that we do and give, will not amount to anything if we don’t let ourselves receive LOVE.

Keep courageously marching onwards my friends! Life will always be messy, so fearlessly face the so-called “bad” head-on because it’s real and remember to also soak in the “good” every moment of every day because you deserve to deeply feel all the love the world has to offer.

I hope to get a chance to see everyone at the AGM on March 10^th at 7 pm for a hug. This isn’t goodbye. I’m just at a reflection point in my life where I want to take the time to determine how I can best contribute to our community.

Thanks again for everything. I couldn’t have done it without your love and support.

I do indeed LOVE Tuxedo Park.

Onwards!

Tammy