The Promise
- Written by: Caren Gilbert — The Secret Lighthouse — Poet
- Published: 27th April 2018

Caren Gilbert shares a poem that was written during our recent Courageous Leadership: Women in Leadership event.
The stage is set, for us to care about how loudly we let our voices be heard,
against the ticking clock.
Look down and try to remember who you are,
as you dwell amongst the coincidence of time,
and the importance of impact in the world.
Sit and listen to where you have come from,
hearing how you are bombarded by your days.
Be connected to your ideas,
and ask yourself for trust and bold action.
We are the kind welcome of the journeys into the sharing of stories and needs.
Meet people every day,
shift and change your experience, the world and your thoughts.
Take the opportunity to reflect on your true depths and authentic wholeness.
Embrace the strengths in your core;
the threads of imagination between the scripts of apology.
Talk about your uniqueness, your curious uncertainties, and your battles.
Know your needs, know your life,
as a gift to those who will follow where it is that you go,
in your spontaneous contributions.
Let simplicity be the important, brave thing
that knows what it is that you will not do, no matter what that brings.
Be adamant, in the way you play and take scenic routes into your dreams.
Pick up the pieces of prejudice that wrong you,
and walk through the doors and mirrors that stop you in your tracks.
When you are the amazing person that you are,
you may still get lost and let down.
Go on, as challenged as you are,
in the direction that drives your belief and knowing.
Take the risk of being wrong,
and let others teach you to support a tomorrow which brings more.
Be friends with justice, fairness and hope,
as you stand in the time that awaits you,
your understanding and your heart.
Be that promise.
Be that promise.
Captured by Caren Gilbert during ‘Unleashing Courageous Leadership at Every Age’ (Alliance Scotland), The Lighthouse, Glasgow (24th April 2018). This event was delivered by the Health and Social Care Academy, the Coalition of Care and support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) (this link will take you away from our website) and Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) (this link will take you away from our website).
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