Stories connect people. Not facts, not stats, not figures, not money. Stories. ... The cardinal rule of posting on a blog is to be brief and to the point. Well, I'm still working on that. :) When I start writing from my heart, my thoughts tend to go in many directions. This is part of my truth :) If something strikes a chord in you and you think you'd like to comment, please do. Cheers to a truthful new year 2009! Oh ... see weblink at the end of this posting for how to share your stories online.I ask myself ... What is my truth? What is my mission?
Why do I make the decisions I make? Do my decisions add value to my life? To the lives of those around me? What is my moment by moment priority? Big picture mission or vision? Is what I'm doing today, have value in some small way? Am I living for myself or for the common good of all? Am I living to get or to give? What do I need to communicate to the world so they understand how I operate? It is all of our jobs to teach other how we want, or need, to be treated. Are we to expect others to read our minds? If we want peace and truth, the answer would be ... a no.
Can we let people just be who they are?
Am I offended by others when I should just instead allow them to have their own reality, letting them be who they are around me? We can't change others, right? When do I step in and communicate, to resolve difference/conflict, to bring peace and perhaps more understanding; when do I step back and let be ... just BE? These are questions that I ponder these last few days of 2008 ... and before getting back into the swing of teaching and graduate work and the basic demands of life.
Speak the truth with grace and consideration?
Challenge yourself to ponder these questions ... to begin a value-added 2009! And remember to aim to also speak the truth with grace, concern, and consideration for others (easier said than done, I know, but we must try to bring more peace into our worlds. It's the smallest, tiniest gestures of consideration that matter.) ...
As you speak your truth, remember too that ...
Make a genuine connection by being authentic.
Our stories, our personal stories, are what will bring us back to the core of who we are ... or who we were. Get in touch with your stories, your core, why you do what you do ... because this truly leads to more genuine connections with people. Our stories, in fact, bring out the authenticity in others. Be YOU, share the true YOU, so others have a greater chance to be the true THEY - BE THEMSELVES!
Everyone has a story to tell, whether it is from their early years or just yesterday or last year or 8 years ago. Ask someone about their story and you'll have a friend for life. Ask them what in their past made them who they are today, having the kind of significance that changed the direction of their life or made an impact in some way. Show them compassion and understanding, and they will melt from the kindness and attention your give them in their busy, sometimes unacknowledged, personal world. And then in return, share snippets of your stories that made you who you are today. Snippets are good. Sometime that's all we have time or energy for! Be tuned in to people.
The love for learning that never dies.
My story is too long for this post ... but on the short side, I was a graphic designer at Children's Hospital, San Diego, for years and loved it!!! ... and now I'm a teacher of 4th grade working on my instructional technology masters of education degree and loving it too. I must say I like the research, study, learning and collaboration more than anything else right now. I love acquiring new information. Good thing, being in the digital world we live in.
Sift out what is useful ... all along keeping in mind my truth ... and leave the rest for everyone else. I need to speak my truth, live a life of integrity and honesty, tell my personal story when it might come in handy for someone else. I need to jump on, or find, my own bandwagon which changes from year to year - be creative, original (if possible; someone has probably already done what I was gonna do! :), simplify, inspire! But not worry if someone else took my idea or gets the credit (which has happened before). Maybe they needed the credit more than I did? There's a thought. :)
See what you can notice and surprise someone in a small way.
We are all hungry, after all, to be noticed, even if we don't admit it. One more question to ask ourselves, and then I'll stop :) Can we accomplish things in the world and be okay without being noticed or acknowledged? Good question to think about. That's a post for the future. In the meantime, see what you can notice, and surprise people in small ways, but know that people like to be noticed in different ways. You know. Some like public notice, some quiet notice. Get tuned in if you can.
I am a seed planter.
In my daily life, I speak and work with people from all walks, all cultures, and we solve problems together ... at school and at work. We listen to each other's stories, collaborate, adding richness to the process of learning. I must say ... teaching is much more than I bargained for back in 1998, harder and much more involved than I ever thought, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of my students. I hope I am planting seeds that will blossom this year ... or in later years, that's okay. I'm a seed planter.
You are a seed planter!
We are not planting seeds in isolation, but together. What I learn from you, I pass onto others, and so on. That's why we need to speak our truth; otherwise we are passing on something less than optimal to the people around us ... we are teaching others to be false. The challenge is to pass on ... THE TRUTH ... so that they will pass on the truth. :)
What is your truth today? Your story?
Each day is just a small step of the journey that has adventures, questions, challenges, successes, mysteries, and nuggets of truth! What's your story? What's your truth!? I stumbled upon this great website today through my Twitter social network called For A Better Life ... Got to weblink: http://www.forbetterlife.org/pass-it-on/tell-your-story to share your story, long or short, or to find inspiration from others!
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1 comment:
You shared lots of great thoughts here. I like the things you wrote about our stories and how they help us to connect with others. I wonder whether that is why blogging is such a successful tool for bonding. Keep up the great writing - I hope to steal some of your ideas because I will be teaching grade 4 this year too! Feel free to steal some of mine too!
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