Even if the agenda looks the same, the meeting is different. Each participant has encountered new information and experiences between gatherings. The world changed. New members joined our efforts and others departed. Our services and contributions have had an impact, positive and negative. We are not looking at the same conditions.

Imagine watching a firework show. At first glance, each burst of light and corresponding boom appear to be the relative similar. Then we notice the different colors, shapes, alternating lengths of illumination, height, and pattern changes. Even the launch angle and sequencing of the shells remains variable. No two firework shows are the same.

How might we embrace that we are never looking at the same thing despite initial appearances and patterns? Even if we meet in the same location, with the usual group, on a repetitive day of the month, and rely on practiced parliamentary procedures, we are not assembling for a duplicate meeting. Our greatest fault is thinking we are convening for repetition when everything is new.