2011-Claiming the Tributaries

I’m a firm believer in New Year’s resolutions. I think it’s an amazing gift to be able to give yourself a day and a time to start fresh. Wipe the slate clean and begin again. I know a lot of people think that New Year’s resolutions are cliché and pointless because you quit within the first week, but maybe I can change their perspective.

I think one of the reasons I love resolutions is also one of the reasons I love teaching. I love that teaching gives you a starting and stopping point every year. I can’t imagine having a job that goes on and on and on, with no break, no beginning or end. Each school year feels like a race- every August you fire the starting pistol, and you know that you need to run your butt off until May, when you cross the finish line, with just enough recovery time to make it until August, when you start the race all over again.

So resolutions are the same way. Here we are on the first day of the first month of a new year. The starting pistol was fired last night at midnight, and we cheered on the start of another race to run with toasts, friends, loved ones, fireworks, and celebrations all over the world. We’ve all started running, and though many of us only have the goal to make it through another race, and many of us may set loftier goals that may get left in the wake of making in through another race, the hope is that this year won’t just be another year of “making it through.” And that’s what I want this year to be.

Let’s be frank. For many (and I would even say most) of us, the life we planned as kids and the life we are living now are very different. This really makes us feel like we are still waiting for life to start. And while we have been waiting, life, years, time, all of it, is passing us by. We graduated college, we found a job, we made friends and developed relationships that have allowed us to find out more of who we are. The thing we have to realize is that this is our life. And we’re already living it. It’s time to grab the bull by the horns and live life as fiercely, totally, confidently, and fully as we can.

One of my favorite stories in American history that I teach every year is the story of Le Salle’s expedition down the Mississippi from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. When he finally made it to the end of the line and reached his destination, he claimed the Mississippi River for France. And as an afterthought, he decided to go ahead and claim all the Mississippi’s tributaries (rivers that feed into a bigger river). This afterthought decision ended up claiming most of present-day US for France, with tributaries stretching from the the Ohio River, Arkansas River, Missouri River, Snake River, and hundreds of their tributaries. If Le Salle hadn’t planted the flag, laid the claim to the territory, and taken a risk, France would have missed out on so much. (Can we say New Orleans?) Le Salle had no clue when he made that statement how much he was gaining for his country, and until Lewis and Clark (among others) explored the land 150 years later, no one realized just how much land there was out there.

As random as that connection may seem, I challenge you to make today the day you plant your flag. And more than that, make a bold, risk-taking, statement. Don’t just claim the river you’ve just finished floated on. Claim the tributaries. The land you haven’t explored yet. And then get out there and find out just how much you discovered.

So there’s my soapbox. My 2011 is going to be a year of living life intentionally, taking risks I’ve never taken, and choosing to be a better me. One that knows who I am in a way I didn’t know 10 years ago, at 16. One who wants to continue to discover more of who I am and who I was created to be. One who welcomes others, whoever those others may be, to join me on the journey and explore with me. And one who, on New Year’s Eve 2011, can cross the finish line out of breath, having given it my all, and celebrating not just the finish of another race, but a new PR.

See you at the finish line!

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No Mind

 

When I started doing spin class, my favorite instructor mentioned something during a class about those moments when the workouts get really, really intense and how you just have to take your mind off of how hard it is and just do it. It immediately reminded me of this scene from The Last Samurai:

No Mind.

It’s weird because I haven’t seen that movie in years, but this has become a philosophy for me when it comes to working out. If I’ve been on the Stairmaster for a while and am ready to throw in the towel, it helps to take my mind off of things by distracting myself with something on Netflix on my phone. If I’m 45 minutes into spin class and start trying to justify lowering my intensity, it helps to just shut off my brain. (Hopefully not at the expense of my workout!)

As I’ve been thinking over the last week about starting 2011 on the right foot, I’ve been thinking more and more about applying this philosophy to more areas of my life. I am definitely more of a thinker that a feeler, and it becomes really easy for me to overthink things. I’m really good at talking myself out of stuff, and while you definitely don’t want to just haul off and do whatever you want, I know for me there are a lot of days that I talk myself out of doing something. Like I start trying to justify laying on the couch instead of going to the gym. Or I over-analyze (like all women do) every aspect of a conversation. Like Shin Koyamada says in the video, I get “too many mind.”

No mind. Don’t think, don’t anticipate, don’t force it. Just let go. You’ll be surprised how much the release makes it easy for you to get to the top of the hill in spin class, or allows you to stop worrying about the future. You’re stronger than you think, so stop doubting yourself and just let it happen. No mind.

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Nobody Wants To Hear It…

Yesterday I was doing carpool duty after school, working diligently at the crosswalk alongside one of our middle school administrators. He asked how I was doing, to which I gave my usual reply- “Can’t complain!” (This reply is my now-standard little reminder to myself that life is all good. But that’s another story.)

He replied that he liked that answer, and I explained to him a bit about my theory that life is good and I don’t have anything to complain about. His reply to me has really had me thinking over the last day. He said “You know, I always tell myself ‘I could complain, but nobody really cares. Nobody wants to hear it.’ “ I liked what he said, but the more I've ruminated on it, I’ve taken it to heart.

As cold as it sounds, it’s true. I mean, I think we’ve all been around the person who complains all the time. And even if it’s not the person who complains all the time, we’ve all been in a situation where we are stuck listening to someone drone on and on about everything wrong with their day. And come on, let’s be honest. You don’t want to hear it. Nobody does. Most people are probably too busy waiting for the complainer to finish so that they can talk about what they want to complain about! Do you really want to be either of the people in that scenario?

My co-worker was right. I could complain. I could sit and feel sorry for myself, and tell everyone about the bad things that happened in my day or focus on the tiny details that a didn’t go my way today. We can all complain about traffic, or burned coffee, or being tired, or a host of other things. Sometimes it’s pretty tempting to get on here and tell you guys about a couple things I don’t adore. But… you don’t want to hear it. And in the end, it doesn’t help anyone, it doesn’t benefit anything, and it doesn’t make anyone’s life better. So why bother?

So next time you feel the urge to complain, just remind yourself…nobody wants to hear it.

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Hark!

 

Do you ever hear the same thing over and over, and then all of a sudden one day hear it with fresh ears? With as much as I listen to Christmas music, I've probably hear Hark The Herald Angels about 50 times this season, but when we sang it at church tonight, the words just really struck me.

It was like I realized all over again what Christmas means and how BIG a deal Jesus's birth was. What it must have meant for the people who were alive when he came, how much hope it gave them. And how much hope it gives us. I probably can't describe it with the right words, it was just one of those "aha" moments. 

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

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Looking Up

Turns out even getting to work before the sun comes up has its perks.



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Giving Thanks

Today has been a day of deep thinking for me. I'm still trying to process and put into words what's going on in my head, so sorry if some of this doesn't make sense. I had a day full of things I adore: spending time with family, cooking and eating good food, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, playing board games and laughing until we cried, napping, not having to leave the house when the temperature has plummeted 40 degrees in the last 24 hours, and some time to myself relaxing after 3 long days of cooking. 


Of course, at Thanksgiving most of us try to stop and think about things we're thankful for, but I spent a lot of time today doing some deep thinking about living a life of thankfulness.


When I started my blog, my purpose was to create a space for me to be intentional about focusing on the good things in my life. I've been so overwhelmed in the last few months by the negativity that comes from everyone all the time. It's been so amazing just in the last few weeks to see how much my outlook on life has changed when I've been intentional about looking around throughout the day and thinking to myself "will this thing rank high enough on my list to be the thing I adore most today?" I'm spending my day looking for the good, the best, the things I adore about every day, rather than remembering something crappy that happened so I can go home and vent about it.


I'm realizing more and more that every day is going to have the things we don't like. It's a guarantee. If can assume that from now until I die there are going to be good and bad things every single day, then I can make a choice. I'm going to throw the bad things out the window. And more than that, I'm going to pursue thankfulness. 


I'm thankful that I have a family who loves me.
I'm thankful for my amazing roommates.
I'm thankful for a job I love where I can change lives and make kids think and learn and grow.
I'm thankful that tonight when I go to sleep tonight, I will be warm, safe, and have a roof over my head.
I'm thankful that the Creator of this universe loves tiny, insignificant me.


I know these all sound cliche, but sometimes those obvious things take on new meaning all of a sudden. As I'm writing this, Sarah McLachlan's Prayer of St. Francis came on my pandora station. Probably one of my favorite things ever, it seems such perfect timing, so I'll end with those words:



Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;


O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand; 
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.


Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

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