Beyond Blessings

For the first time in nearly two weeks, I do NOT have to go anywhere this evening. I find that amazing and wonderful. It also makes me wonder how I have survived these past two weeks. Yesterday, I literally "worked" from 7:30 AM until 11:30 PM. Somehow, I had assumed that sixteen hour days were a thing of the past. The strangest part came around 9:30 PM. I arrived home from my advisory meeting for my daughter's school and knew that I still had hours of work to do. Rather than collapse, though, I sat down and did more correcting. It has been years since I have found the strength to do that.

Now, I have no interest in making sixteen (or fourteen, or even ten) hour days the norm in my life. I lived that nightmare far too long. At the same time, I find it fascinating that I have not succumbed to a horrid virus because I have been working at an insane pace for the past two weeks. Clearly, God is watching out for me. I also know that I am getting better a pacing myself within the framework of my day. While I "worked" sixteen hours on Wednesday, I also found spaces within the day to relax and heal. That said, I firmly believe that deeper concepts are also involved.

I have thought for many years that God is present in daily life. We simply need to be open to God's love. For whatever reason, I am more open these days. Some of it is my own journey. Each day, I come closer to recognizing that I am nothing more than a traveler walking the long road of life. The things I don't know greatly outpace those few items that I do comprehend. As a result, I seek for wisdom and guidance far more fervently than I did in my youth. Beyond my own willingness to receive God's strength and aid, though, I certainly benefit from the magic happening in my classroom at school.

My teaching colleagues and our students are incredible. Both instructors are gifted educators who strive to make each moment better than the last. They also drive themselves to place our students first, each second of every day. It is stunning to be a part of the dance. Even cooler though, is the synergy that is beginning to percolate amid our young charges. Though the year is barely four weeks old, I can already see some brains coming to life with insights that greatly belie the young ages of the bodies that hold them. All of it makes me want to dig deeper and push harder. I continue to listen to my own body and soul, honoring its limits, but I also revel in the joy that teaching is bringing me again.

I am not foolish to think that every day will be paradise, nor am I crazy enough to think that plenty of horrible days will not take place. Still, I love that after years of wandering in the desert, I have stumbled into an oasis that not only reminds me of what I have always loved about this insane profession, but also inspires me to give what I can to make the world a better place. Coehlo in The Alchemist tells us that the universe conspires to aid someone in pursuit of his Personal Legend. The way things are going of late, I am fairly sure that he knows exactly what he is saying!