On the Bright Side

The other day I was talking with a young person whose soul seemed older than time. She was so young, yet so wise. And she was lonely. She expressed how no one seemed to want to include her in their activities and she couldn ’t understand why. She reasoned that she was kind, thoughtful, intelligent, talented, and not a threat to anyone’s social status ( pretty deep for an eleven year old - see what I mean about an old soul? ). She knew she was not one of the “popular” girls, and she didn ’t mind. That wasn ’t her goal. She told me she really likes school - especially reading and social studies. But she'd like to be included sometimes. Like recess, or lunch. She reassured, it’s okay, she brings books to read. But she came to me because she wanted to know if I could help her reach out and make friends. Her maturity and her clarity astounded me. She saw the situation for exactly what it was, and she was seeking a rational solution to what she rec...

I was not really in a hurry, I was just tired of waiting. My foot tapping, my blood pressure rising as if by Pavlovian response, the snippy resonse already forming on my tongue, I was about to let the front desk manager have it when I was actually saved by a sigh and an eye roll. As strange as that may sound, my long frustrated sigh acted more like a deep, cleansing breath and I suddenly gained perspective on myself and the situation I was in. It was summertime. As a teacher I am blessed with two months to rejuvenate, relax, and reflect. I had nowhere to go, no reason to be in a hurry, yet I had run out of patience and it wasn't even 9 a.m.! My deep breath helped me reflect on my reflexes. It gave me the time to catch a bad mood mid-formation. When I thought about the potential amount of wasted energy, stress and irritation that I almost allowed into my morning simply because I was inconvenienced, I actually laughed at myself. A bonafide LOL. When the guy behind the ...