ABSTRACT
Are there any school principals who have not felt at some stage, and maybe many times, that they have so depleted their energy sources that there is nothing left, that they are running on empty? Fullan (1996) writes:
In My Emptiness
With depleted energy resources, I was attracted in 1994 to a conference, ‘Sources of Renewal for Educators’ run by the Friends’ Council on Education at their retreat centre in Pendle Hill, Pennsylvania. The conference theme was to explore the sources of spiritual vitality in our personal and professional lives. I decided to attend the conference and to stay for a week after the conference as a ‘sojourner’ in this Quakers retreat. This had to be one of the best decisions that I had made in my life. This conference gave me a new sensitivity to myself, a new awareness of others and a better understanding of the educational task. The conference was led by Dr Paul Lacey. Paul was a quiet, gentle person, open to others, not afraid of showing personal emotion, being present in discussions and bringing not only his personal experiences but richness from his study of English literature. The style of the conference was simple: some introductory comments, a reading or two, an invitation for us to spend time writing and then, subsequently, to share our writing if we felt we would like to do this. There were no prizes for the best written material or the most original
presentation. Nothing was collected afterwards but I am pleased to have copies of my writing, upon which I can now reflect. Furthermore Paul did not carry a briefcase of reading home that night. He was free to think and prepare.
