✨Beginnings and Endings, All in One Month (021)

August has always been a meaningful month for me, but this year it carried a different kind of weight.

My niece got married. I marked 20 years of calling Australia home. My sisters celebrated their birthdays. Life felt full of reasons to gather, to laugh, to celebrate.

Moments like these remind me of the joy in pausing to honor milestones - the gift of years, relationships, and the unfolding chapters of our lives.

But August also held a quieter, heavier moment. On the 21st, my very first manager, Kathrine Lim, lost her lengthy battle with cancer.

She wasn’t just my manager. I was a young graduate with an Economics degree, starting out as an intern in a family-owned enterprise. She gave me my start, taught me the power of listening deeply, and showed me what it meant to lead with strength and compassion.

We travelled on work trips together to Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, long before Facebook, smartphones, or WhatsApp. I have no photos to look back on, but the memories remain vivid.

And then came life’s paradox: the very same day I received the news of her passing was also the birthday of a resilient leader, whom I currently have the privilege of working alongside. The circle of beginnings and endings, of loss and life, collided on one date.

Lessons in Paradox

Life often reminds us that joy and grief sit side by side. The same day can hold cake, candles, and celebration while also carrying silence, grief, and remembrance.

This paradox is at the heart of being human and at the heart of leadership.

• Celebrate fully, even when the world feels heavy.

• Grieve honestly, even when work still demands our energy.

• Hold space for both, without needing to resolve the tension between them.

Because leadership isn’t just about strategy or delivery. It’s about noticing the threads that connect people - their beginnings, their milestones, and yes, their endings.

The Spark That Remains

When I think of my first manager, what burns brightest isn’t her title or achievements. It’s the way she cared. The way she believed in me before I believed in myself.

That spark doesn’t dim with her passing, it continues in the people she touched.

And that’s what it means to burn bright, not out:
✨ To live aware of the brevity of time but not crushed by it.
✨ To celebrate life even while holding grief.
✨ To lead with presence, not perfection.

Closing with Kindness

This month, sadness, gratitude, hope, and reflection all showed up at once. Life rarely lets us process one feeling at a time. It immerses us in a sea of emotions, asking us to find meaning amidst the waves.

And maybe the most human thing of all is remembering this: it’s okay to feel everything - joy, sorrow, hope, grief together. The full spectrum of these emotions is what makes us beautifully human.

💡 Your Turn

Who taught you to lead before you knew you were learning? Their spark doesn’t fade when they’re gone, it lives on in every person you choose to believe in.

Take a moment this week to honor them not just in memory, but in action.

To your spark,
Mary