I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that we are where we need to be -whether that is easy or hard - for some reason. We may not know why now, or ever, but we have a purpose and a lesson greater than ourselves as individuals. We just need to be open to that experience - open minds, open hearts - to be able to live to our own fullest potential.
One early morning I woke up, and checked my facebook. A friend had posted a link to a video on youtube, about the red sox/yankees rivalry in one home. It was a bit of a sad video as the father (a red sox fan) was harsh with his young son (an about 4-year-old yankees fan). The boy's older brother (about age seven?) stepped in to comfort him, which redeemed the video. I then clicked over to the "featured" tab, to see what was new. And through no coincidence I found this performance by Sarah Kay at TED: (make sure to stay tuned to the end - she does two poems, "B" first, and "Hiroshima" at the end)
Things have been hard recently - hard at work, hard in life - but hearing these words reminded me that I'm not alone in that; that other people are struggling, too. Its not about who has it the "worst", its about how we are handling what we are given today. Someone else feels like "When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you want to save are the ones standing on your cape." And that each day is called the present for now, so I should try to focus on that, making an impact today, not when I get around to it, when I'm feeling better, or when I have time. To be the "permanent shadow of positive light" for the people in my life - my students, my coworkers, my friends, my family, my partner. I don't want to change anyone, because I wouldn't learn from them if I tried. I want to support them, to listen to them, to be there in a way that in however-many years it takes, they look back and think, "Miss M. was there for me" or "Meghan accepted me for who I am", even though I am imperfect myself.
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