“When you come to the edge of all of the light you’ve known, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown; faith is knowing one of two things will happen. You’ll have something solid to stand on, or you’ll be taught how to fly.”
--Patrick Overton
(Thanks to Fran Haley's post for the inspiration)
It must be a teacher thing, all this planning ahead. On Friday, we need to know what we'll be doing on Monday. We plan the week, month, unit, grading period, school year ahead. As a librarian, I often have to plan a year beyond that to book authors and hold book fairs. The enormity of the curriculum we're supposed to cover in 175 days with students keeps us constantly cramming every nook and cranny of our work days. Some of us tend to do that with our personal lives as well, stuffing our days off with tasks, trips, and professional development opportunities.
It's no wonder that the one piece of instruction, the one life skill we often lack, is that of reflection. We feel like we just don't have time for review. Too much needs to get done.
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The quote above made me stop and reflect on the times I've faced the unknown. Major life transitions, scary circumstances, big and little opportunities--I've survived them, even thrived sometimes. I bet you have, too.
If we remember, we can feel the solid ground beneath us. We can push off, and fly.
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| https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-jumping-photo-127968/ |
Absolutely. I am grateful to this Slice of Life challenge for helping me stop and reflect. I love the opening quote.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Amanda. Taking time to stop and write does help us remember how strong we can be.
DeleteI love the application of the quote to our work and the enormity of it. I absolutely love the picture! Most of all, I love your encouragement to reflect. It's so true, so vital to living. I am glad the quote resonated with you so. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspiration, Fran! I have so many goals I haven't even attempted yet, and I think it's because I forget I've done hard things before. It's good to remember.
DeleteYou are so spot on about the importance of reflection. In a way, reading and commenting on slices is a chance to put into practice being reflective. Now, I can comment further because I must go do something... :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alice! You're right; writing does help us remember. Maybe another post needs to be "my Wonder Woman moments"...
DeleteI've heard it said as follows. "Always take time to smell the flowers". In most of our lives, especially in today's world, that easier said than done. I think I told you this before, but what helped me in my later years of my work was the tree in the front yard. That's where I would put the problems of the day on the leaves of that tree when I got home. The next morning I'd go by the tree, touch the leaves and take those problems back to work. Love ya, Dad.
ReplyDeleteThat's great for handling the day to day. You've recently taken the time to go back and reflect on what you've accomplished in the past. This post speaks to remembering your strengths by doing so, before tackling the "next big thing".
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