The good in this world is like that beautiful bud hidden by the leaves and thorns of a rose bush plant. Yes, the beauty is there but sometimes you may have to look a little more to find it. Sometimes you have to get pricked on the finger and draw a little blood before you find the goodness you've been searching for...
What do I want to say to the world? That's one of the questions I asked students this week in their weekly journal prompt. He's what I want to say... ...there's so much goodness in the world. I see it every day but it isn't celebrated like it should be. I saw it a few days ago as a student gave up his free time to help with a project he had no ties to. This student could have kept walking by my classroom door, but when he saw the mountains of papers that needed to be folded and stapled, he walked right in and helped out. No questions asked. Goodness doesn't have to come in the form of helping hundreds or even thousands of people. Just helping that one person, and it only has to be one, can be a life changer. Recently, I listened to a TEDx talk about how we've made leadership be an almost unreachable cloud that only those who sit in an office or are famous can grasp. But, in reality, a leader can simply be one person who made a comment to you or helped you that changed your life. I think goodness can work the same way. Do good in this world. ...with goodness comes joy. The concept of joy has always baffled me because it is honestly undeniably cool. How does joy work and what is it? Joy is the feeling you get when you are genuinely happy to help someone out. Whatever it is that you are doing, if you are truly happy about it, that's joy! Recently, I struggled to stay on top of an ever growing to-do list. Between planning lessons for class, being a stellar wife, trying to stay in contact with dear friends (trust me, it's more difficult than you think) and raising two little girls, I was falling farther and farther behind, and it showed in my actions, attitude, and emotions. But I had one person seek me out and ask if they could help me. That was their joy! They genuinely wanted to help me. Consequently, their joy put good into the world. I learned a lot about myself in that moment. I struggle with allowing people to help me. I also learned that allowing people to help me makes me a more joyous individual. Additionally, I learned that if I didn't allow someone to help me, I was taking away their joy. Who am I to steal someone's joy? So let people help you. Don't steal their joy. If what you are doing (positivity is needed) brings you joy, you are also bringing goodness into the world. Let them put goodness into the world. It's a win, win! I want to live in a world where positivity trumps negativity every day. Each of you has the opportunity to do good and experience joy. It's a choice you have to make. Be the goodness in the world. Find that pretty rose bud that is hidden, pull back the leaves and thorns, and let the world see it. Sometimes you will get nicked by a thorn, but never give up. It's there I assure you. Just look.
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Happiness (n): the state of being happy. Synonyms: satisfaction, joy, delight.
I had the opportunity to sit down with some of the seniors earlier this week to discuss the current book we are reading: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer over a campfire setting. As we sat around our makeshift campfire, talking about McCandless' adventure, munching on campfire food, listening to the sounds of the wilderness, I couldn't help but be happy. Happy with the time I am given to spend with this teenagers. Delighted with being about to share some of my knowledge with these aspiring students. Satisfied with the success of a well-planned lesson. But most of all, happy with where this wild life as brought me. After we put away the ferocious Teklanika River made from an old blue blanket, cleaned up the wood logs, and packed up the lawn chairs, I reflected on our experience in class that day. At that moment in time I was experiencing something that Chris yearned for his entire life: pure happiness. Christopher McCandless was a young man pursuing his own happiness. He desired to live in the Alaskan wilderness without society means. Unfortunately, (spoiler alert) he perished during his adventure. Even though he experienced hardships, I believe he was never short on happiness. He was in constant travel mode and lived by his own means aside from what others, parents and society, told him to do. In fact, during his time at the bus (his Alaskan home), he marked a passage from Tolstoy's Family Happiness that stated: "He was right in saying that the only certain happiness in life is to live for others." Beside this passage McCandless wrote, "Happiness is only real when shared." (Krakauer, 189) At first read I was a little confused by his comment. If happiness is only real when shared, why didn't Chris want to share his happiness with others on his greatest adventures? Or maybe he just didn't want to share his journey with a select few. We know that Chris' relationship with his parents was strained. Maybe because of this flawed relationship, he just didn't want to share his happiness with them but did with others. We know from Krakauer's story that he met many people throughout his final journey that he considered friends: Wayne and Jan. Why would he want to share his life with people he doesn't really know? Why would that make him happy? Many questions unanswered. Whether his motives for sharing his happiness are ever known or not, the most important lesson that I can glean from Chris is to find what makes you happy and DO IT. He did. One of his last journal entries point directly to him being happy with his life. I want each of you to be happy with your life even if that means going against the grain sometimes. "If they give you lined paper, write the other way." If the other way makes you happy, choose the path that's going to be make you happy. And then - include people. People are what make this life interesting, exciting, difficult, fun, etc. Find your happiness. Find your passion. Live it. Breath it. |
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