At Journey’s End
Jun 13, 2025
After 16 years, this is my final message to the ISF community. To sum up my time at ISF in a few short sentences is an impossible task beyond even the most talented of wordsmiths. I will not attempt the impossible here. While there is much that might be said of my time as the leader of the ISF community, I am comfortable with the notion that if my contribution does not speak for itself, words will not fill the void. However, a message of farewell is warranted, and perhaps the most appropriate way of concluding my ‘literary’ presence at ISF is to invoke a modified form of a traditional Chinese idiom.
The expression ‘a journey of a thousand li starts with the first step’ (千里之行始於足下) is well-known both within and beyond China and often serves as encouragement that difficult undertakings start with small but decisive actions. Great things may come from small beginnings. My journey in serving the ISF community commenced with a small but decisive step when I signed my first employment contract. I knew the journey ahead would be challenging and exciting, but I could not foresee the many unanticipated adventures that lay ahead, hidden in the twists and folds of the future. Such is the nature of thousand-li journeys!
What is perhaps less obvious is that thousand-li journeys also finish with the last step (千里之行終於足下). Knowing when a great journey has come to its conclusion may not always be obvious to the traveler or the observer. Missing your exit when on a highway, missing your exit cue when on stage, or missing your ‘use-by’ date when serving in a leadership role, all of these lead to outcomes that are both unexpected and problematic. How do we know when we have reached the last step in our thousand-li journey?
It is an all too human response to feel the tug of gratification and perhaps the glow of pride that comes from the successful completion of another task, another challenge, another milestone. There is also an imagined, bright future that beckons with the beguiling promise that another round, another lap, or another chapter lies within our grasp. Is it just wishful thinking? Shouldn’t I stay in the game for just one more roll of the dice?
Recognizing that a lengthy undertaking has reached its endpoint takes wisdom, courage, and determination. Each of us must wrestle with such contentions in our personal and professional undertakings; the answer is unique to each individual. Sadly, there is no roadmap or GPS to guide travelers on such journeys; just the combination of instinct, judgment, experience, and courage to take each step into the unknown, both hopeful and fearful of what lies ahead. So too is the moment at which we take the final step. Rarely will we find a clear guidepost that marks the terminus.
Many factors may play a part in bringing down the curtain on an epic journey. For me, the final decision to conclude my journey came from a very personal place that deeply cherished the rich history and complex landscape traversed as a part of the ISF community to reach this point. At the same time, I felt compelled to concede that I was ready to pass on the baton, with grace and humility, to those who will begin their own thousand-li journeys in the next chapter of ISF. In life, timing is all.
I wish all in the ISF community the very best for the future, confident that each member will continue to strive for excellence in their endeavors, but also hopeful that the lifeblood of our small village – learning – will continue to flow powerfully to inspire each step of the next thousand-li journey.
Dr. Malcolm Pritchard
Head of School
