One of my 5th grade students asked me for a week what my favorite animal was – I answered without hesitation: dogs!
Such a sweet, thoughtful gesture.
gratitude
Authentic Beauty
“For old people, beauty doesn’t come free with the hormones, the way it does for the young… It has to do with who the person is.”
Ursula K. Le Guin
If you want to be a truly beautiful person, be kind:
- be patient in traffic (Road Rage offends other drivers as well as your passenger(s));
- call a friend and invite them to a bike ride, or a walk…or lunch;
- take the time to counsel a young person who requests your advice;
- volunteer to help your community in an area of need;
- give thoughtful gifts because you thought of her…or him…just because;
- tell each person you love how you feel and that you appreciate them;
- write a love note and send it
To Parents and Guardians of Kids Under 16
Teaching your teenager how to drive is a thankless job. Don’t expect appreciation. Laugh off the frustration, anger and stress. It’s our job to teach them to drive well and safely. They have no idea how many new gray hairs have sprouted because they almost hit that car/curb/bicyclist. They have no idea how it feels (for the adult passenger) to be completely powerless as they hit the accelerator and then the brakes. They don’t know that they are steering a 4,000 lb weapon.
Just try to stay present and calm. Try. To. Be. Calm.
It will pay off!
Focus on Gratitude
“When you’re grateful, you can’t be angry.
When you’re grateful, you can’t be worried.
Anger and fear are what screw people up most…in their relationships and in their business.”
Tony Robbins
Pleasure vs. Joy
“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within.”
Eckhart Tolle
Happy Holidays, Everyone
Ultimate paradox: When you focus on the giving, you get so much more.
Honoring All Who Served
Thank you, Veterans of all colors and creed,
for today, we honor the actions behind your beliefs
Your love of our country – with her beauty and blemishes –
in contemplation, we hope to mirror your images
Beatitude (Supreme Blessedness)
Today was the fourth day of summer school (I’m teaching a 2nd and 3rd grade combo class). We hadn’t even gotten to the fun stuff yet (math Bingo with M&Ms and vocabulary skits) when one second grader beamed and said, “I love summer school!”
“What part?” I asked.
“All of it!”
Her gratitude was intense and contagious. Other students murmured in agreement. Summer school is the bomb.
She could have complained about waking up, getting dressed and going to school.
She could have dreaded doing math (again).
She could have complained and compared herself to other kids who are going on vacations to California and beyond.
But she was completely present. She was 100% here with 16 other kids and me and we had a great time.
Thanks to the Good and Bad*
First of all, sushi. Definitely a good thing!
*From Ryan Holiday’s blog, Thought Catalog:
[*] Say Thanks—To The Good and Bad — The Stoics saw gratitude as a kind of medicine, that saying “Thank you” for every experience was the key to mental health. “Convince yourself that everything is the gift of the gods,” was how Marcus Aurelius put it, “that things are good and always will be.” Say thanks to a rude person. Say thanks to a bungled project. Say thanks to a delayed package. Why? Because for starters it may have just saved you from something far worse, but mostly because you have no choice in the matter.
Epictetus has said that every situation has two handles: Which are you going to decide to hold onto? The anger or the appreciation? The one of resentment or of thanks?
13 Habits* (#8)
Think about death.
“Death doesn’t make life pointless but rather purposeful. ” In other words, live like you’re dying.
Kismet 