Mindful Monday: YOU are the Blessing

I heard a quote the other day and it hit a little differently. "Sometimes it feels like nothing good happens to you. ​M​aybe that’s because you are the good that’s happening to others. Y​O​U are the blessing​." 

Hearing that felt like a mic drop moment. 

​When we’re grinding through life, ​it's the good that makes the grind survivable. Sometimes we’re just hoping for a glimmer of light, some words of affirmation, ​maybe somebody to notice us to get us through the day.​ However​, have you considered that perhaps ​Y​OU are that glimmer of hope​, that light shining upon others​? Perhaps ​Y​OU are the good that others are so desperately needing. ​J​ust maybe ​your friendly smile in the hallway is ​exactly what that person needed to make it through the afternoon. Maybe your kind words stuck with them and carried them through the week​.

​When you’re looking for the good ​around you, consider ​Y​OU may very well be the good others are looking for.​ YOU are that blessing! 

Mindful Monday: Don't Listen to Yourself

"Don't listen to yourself. Talk to yourself." I heard this quote for the first time the other day, and it completely resonated with me.

I'm sure it's not news to hear that we tend to be our own worst critics. We would never speak to our loved ones the way we often speak to ourselves.  We are quick to nit pick and criticize our choices. We beat ourselves up over our shortcomings. And the crazy part about this is that we believe it all. 

So enough. Stop listening to your inner voice. Stop listening to those intrusive thoughts that say 'you can't' or 'you're not enough'. 

Instead, be intentional and speak light into your life. Speak words of affirmations. Be kind to yourself. If you're not in a place where you're ready to believe it, then believe what others tell you. When someone tells you how great you are, believe it. When something shares how grateful they are for you, believe them. When a compliment is shared with you, accept it. 

Mindful Monday: Love > Hate

To say there is a lot going on in the world today seems to be an understatement. There is so much noise these days, so much screaming, I can hardly hear my own thoughts. 

I absolutely get there is a lot to be upset about. I get the "other side" (whichever side that may be) never seems to get it. I get there are real issues and topics we should absolutely be concerned with. 

However, at what point will we tire of being filled with rage? When will we grow weary of insisting we're right and "they" are wrong. When will the fatigue set in from only pointing out differences? 

At some point, we have to all agree that hate is not the answer. 

Thank you for being a part of a profession that chooses to embrace hope. 

Thank you for being a part of a profession that adds love to this world each and every day. 

And thank you for being a part of a profession that knows we are better together.  

Mindful Monday: Feeding Your Peace

Valentine's Day tends to consume the month of February with a particular focus on loving others. Here's the thing, in education, we give a lot of ourselves to others. It's time we shift the focus to self love. 

This month, I challenge you to focus on 'starving your fears and feeding your peace'. It's easy to focus on the future and get trapped in the what ifs, the what might be's, and the hope nots. The next thing we know we are trying to control it all, plan it all out, and avoid potentially negative scenarios. The thing is, we aren't in control of it all. And when we feed our fears, we feel even more stressed. 

Instead, feed your peace. Focus on what you can control. Focus on what brings you joy. Focus on what brings you peace. Most of us are being pulled in multiple directions daily. It's not indulgent, it's not selfish, and it's certainly not a luxury to do what's best for YOU. I get it's easy and often necessary to focus on others, our children, our spouses, other obligations we have; however, not to the detriment of our own peace and wellbeing. 

This week, as you find yourself being pulled in multiple directions and the stress rises, ask yourself, "How can I starve my fears right now and feed my peace?"  

Mindful Monday: Shining a Light

Teaching in 2020 caused many of us in education to be reflective and think about why we are here. ​Upon much reflection, my 'why' ​was boiled down ​t​o this one sentence. “I am here to shine the light on the greatness that lies within you.” This is my life‘s purpose for my students and colleagues that I have the pleasure of working alongside ​​to shine light on the brilliance within them. It is my hope that I live out these words​, and that through my actions, you feel seen and validated because what each of you do every day is beyond amazing!

Mindful Monday: Inspire

The word inspire comes from the Latin word spirare, meaning "to breathe". When combined with the prefix in-, it literally means "to breathe into". This is what you do each and every day when you inspire our students. You are quite literally breathing life into them. When you inspire others, you are opening doors they may have never once tried. You are showing them paths they never knew existed. When you inspire those around you, you are providing the wind that helps them soar. I know it to be true because I see it first hand everyday. 

The dedication, the passion, the resilience, the creativity, the enthusiasm, the pure love shown each and every day inside these walls inspires me. After doing this for 19 years, I have yet to meet someone that didn't bring something needed to the table. Each of you has an amazing gift of your very own that we need, that our students need. It is your gift of patience, or perhaps your kind smile; maybe your gift is giving second chances, either way, everytime you share your gift, you are inspiring others. 

Thank you for breathing life into those around you! 

Mindful Monday: Life's Truths

January has a funny effect on me. It tends to make me re-evaluate where I've been and where I'm heading. And well, it led me down an introspective rabbit hole. Bear with me. :) 

Life. It’s a funny thing. It's ever so complex, and yet it can be boiled down to a few truths that are universal to all of us.

• ​Things always change.
• Loss is unavoidable.
• Nobody knows what they’re doing.
• And hindsight is always 20/20.

These four statements are true, no matter your age, your background, what part of the world you live in, or what generation you are from. However, we rarely accept these truths.

Things are always changing, and yet we try our darndest to control it all. I think it’s one of the biggest illusions we tell ourselves is that we’re in control. When in reality, trying to control it all leads to stress and anxiety. It's such a catch-22. Not being able to control life's circumstances leaves us feeling stressed. And on the other side of that coin, trying our best to control it all also leaves us stressed. And while easier said than done, the serenity prayer says it best. "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." It's being able to know the difference of what is or isn't in our control that will save our sanity.

Coupled with things are always changing, nothing lasts forever. We lose jobs. Friends come and go from our lives. Our money seems to disappear faster than we make it. Our health fades. And unfortunately, our loved ones don’t live forever. Even though we know loss is inevitable, we don’t ​tend to handle it well. Loss of any kind creates an awful void​.​ Unfortunately, many adults have learned how to compartmentalize and not deal with it. Instead, I would encourage you to sit with the loss. Feel your feelings. Be upset. Be mad. Because at the end of the day, if you don't acknowledge what you are feeling, it has a way of showing up when you least expect it and usually in unwanted ways. 

And here’s the thing, nobody, I repeat, nobody knows what they’re doing. We’re all making it up as we go, doing our best putting one foot in front of the other and that’s OK. Not Oprah, Dr Phil, Brené Brown​ or anyone else, for that matter, knows what they are doing. I assure you, they are not "in" on life's secrets. Instead, we must walk alongside each other. We must support and lean on one another. Lend a hand when we can, and be brave enough to ask for help when needed. 

The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard ​once wrote, "That life must be understood backwards. But with this, one forgets the second proposition, that it must be lived forwards." While yes, I would absolutely agree to the value of being retrospective, we can't live in the shoulda, woulda, couldas. I get, all too well, that hindsight is 20/20. But we can't beat ourselves up by second guessing our decisions. 

All this to say, give yourself grace. Life is hard. Change is hard. Loss is hard. We are all doing our best, trying to make the most of this journey we are on.