Unexpected Pizza Night & PTSD

I was recently watching a television interview of a professional who works with woman who are suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after childbirth. We are not talking post natal depression here, but full blown PTSD after the birth of healthy children. The common element in all the suffers was they had a very ridged birth plan that went wrong. The way they were treating these women was to get them to focus on the desired outcome – a healthy mother and child and put aside how the road to achieving that was not as they planned.

Hearing this and I immediately thought of Lodge. How many lodges get bogged down on process rather than outcomes and an inability to cope with change and challenges, rather than focus on high level positive outcomes. How many of the things which upset people really don’t make much of a difference in the success or otherwise of a lodge, but how getting upset in itself leads to failures. Lots of lodges have a sort of collective PTSD when leaders withdraw, or plans go astray or don’t work out exactly as planned.

Devotion faced a challenge recently when after deep reflection our SW decided not to proceed into the chair. Rather than the lodge focusing on a plan astray, they respected and supported our Brother in his decision. Likewise, we had our usual night planed for our south, with our caterer expected to supply his normal excellent fair. Unfortunately the flu intercepted and derailed that plan when our cater called in sick. A quick decision and some flexibility and our Fellow crafts took control of a pizza menu, and with a suggestion of a buffet serving of pizza - we had a great night