We had an inspiring “Journeys”- themed town hall session at our offices. Myself and some of my colleagues had the opportunity to share a bit about our journeys.

One of my colleagues shared how she and her husband were keen Camino trail walkers. One of their bucket list items was to walk the Camino trail in Italy, but when her husband collapsed and passed away next to her one day while walking in the Transkei she decided to walk the Italian trail by herself. She shared her adventures, stories and reflections.

A second colleague shared his challenges fighting bladder cancer. He highlighted how he ignored his problems for three years before seeking help and how he should’ve realised sooner that his family’s feelings also mattered.

We were also fortunate to hear a bit of history as one of our coworkers shared his journey of working for the same company for nearly 40 years – unheard-of commitment and loyalty!

A few years ago a colleague of mine immigrated to Qatar and she shared some of the challenges she faced. Something I took away from her talk was that it is the things we take for granted, like knowing where to go in an emergency or how to renew a licence, that become mountains of problems in another country. You have to learn how to adult all over again.

Another colleague shared about the challenges he faced when his family became the victims of a farm murder, especially when reporters decided to show up at his father’s funeral. 

And finally, I got to share a little bit about my journey. I tried to focus on everything that has happened while maintaining my 80kg weight loss.

Our town hall session made me realise that although it can sometimes appear in a professional environment, that we are well-oiled machines turning out work item after work item, we are actually all just humans, and we all have a story to share. Choose to be kind – always.

Another realisation was that it is sometimes in the midst of our hardships that we find our best selves. Our hardship is a reminder that life should be lived to the fullest every day. Tomorrow is never a guarantee.