Passover...Passion.... Rise To It!!!

Passover...Passion...Rise To It!!!
 
In reading my email from  "The Tip Of The Week by The Two Sisters," I found this great morsel of truth to pass on.  The two sisters are educators that travel and have a blog to help inform other educators in the latest and greatest in education.  Recently their travels brought them to joyfully meet Mollie Williams, from Chesapeake, Virginia, at a conference.   Here is what I found in their post that I wanted to pass a long to all of you: 

       

    They were laughing with her about the tolerance and tenacity of a large group of educators who sat on the floor in a packed room at the conference, just to attend their session of choice.
    Mollie commented that she'd told her husband about the experience and after listening attentively he mentioned that he found it hard to fathom why teachers would sit on the floor just to get information related to their work.  He had recently attended a business conference and remarked how he was quite certain his fellow businessmen would never sit on the floor in order to participate in an overflowing session. 
    Mollie eloquently and gently told her husband, "I guess that is the difference between a career and a calling.  I am willing to sit on the floor, or even stand in a session if I believe I can gather a nugget of information to refine my craft of teaching, take it back to my classroom and positively impact my student's learning." 

 

      

      Did you get that?  What lengths have you gone through to get where you are today and why?  Are you living an authentic life out of passion?  Or, have you succumbed to the fears that others have place in your head?  We all have moments of adversity in our life and get stuck in the mud.  The levels of which vary and we can let the negativity of other stuck people hinder our true path, or we can choose to daily make small changes that get us unstuck!  Everyday we can choose to work toward our goal or calling from our soul.  Small changes and little steps are better than taking no steps at all.  The people who hinder our path may just be comfortable with who we are now and not with who we long to be.  We all can't be a star, because there must be an audience and fan base to make us star.  I really don't believe that everyone would want to be in the lime light anyway.  Watching my children grow and the children from my years of doing daycare in my home, I have found that every child is unique.  They all are drawn to different toys and tasks throughout the day.  While sometimes they will have them in common, many times they will have a desire to do "their own" thing.  Ask any teacher how easy it is to get all of their students to stay on task at all times.  This is just one example of why I believe that we all have within us a true "calling."  

      Another thing that I believe is, no matter what we do to hinder our path, it will always be calling out to us.  "Buy that guitar... you know you could play it!"...Build it!.....Make it!...Plant it!  Clean it!  Bake it!!   SING, DANCE, WRITE!....Who cares if your grammar is all wrong!  That is why they have editors!!  (Writing is mine!  I am always wanting to buy notebooks and journals to write in.  I keep paper with me at all times.  I have even started to carry my laptop with me now!)  Let's face it, we all know when we have been to a "Good" Doctor.  We know when we have had a meal prepared by a Chef who is really passionate & has put that passion into creating that meal.  Have you ever walked into a building and been inspired to create because the architecture is incredible?  It doesn't just stop there.  It takes people who have passion, pride, and integrity in the work that they do to keep that passion consistent daily with the original creation. 

 

What is your passion?  Are you doing something you are called to do out of passion, or are you just working your daily grind out of obligation to the many responsibilities you have acquired?  What do you want for your children? I know I throw words around like passion and creativity, and I sound idealistic and a bit over the top.  Well maybe I am a bit over the top at times, but I still believe it is possible for all of us to have the life we desire.  I believe it is never too late to do the things in life that will ignite that fire within.  The sooner we do so will determine how successful we become.  The only way our children will find their true passion is to be emerged and surrounded by multiple learning opportunities with quality teachers as mentors to help ignite their passion.  The story above from the two sisters is in my view, is a perfect example of how we need to appreciate the truly great teachers out there.  The "GREAT ONES" choose teaching as profession out of a sense of "calling" and will stop at nothing to ignite a passion for learning in our children.  We need to support these teachers in their task and pay them well.  

However, I will always feel that the education of our children begins with us.  Our children learn first from us as parents.  What we see as important, they will see to be important (until they turn into teens and begin to make their own way.)  Even at that time though, I feel they will look to us for an example and a standard.  When we decide to place the education of our children in the hands of our public schools, it is still our role as parents to to support the task of the teachers.  We can not just drop them off and pick them up and expect that it is all getting done.  We need to be involved in the process and have them there on time ready to learn.  We need to make sure their homework is getting done and know what they are learning, achieving and lacking.  If we do not get involved in the public education of our children and "have the backs" of our teachers, then we may as well just drop our kids off at a babysitter.  The message to our children is clear, when we do not make education important, they will not see it to be important.  Thank you, "Two Sister's" for your post about Mollie and "Thank you Mollie" for sharing those inspired words with them. 

My below music link  for this post is Even Angels fall by Jessica Riddle from A Walk To Remember.  Please enjoy!  I feel it is the perfect song for this post because no one is perfect nor are we meant to be.  Sometimes the greatest lessons in life have been learned by making a mistake!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNVK4pN5134&feature=player_embedded

      One final thought to do with those things in our life called "responsibilities."  No matter who we are, we have them.  Run and hide, but they will still be right where you left them.  You can let them become all that you are about, or you can rise above them as you live up to them and move forward.  This Easter Sunday...I ask that you do not just "passover" all the aspects of your life that make you who you are.  "Good," or "not so much"....try to see them as a  blessing that can help you ignite the passion waiting within you or within someone else.  Then rise each day to the occasion of this life that we have before us!  Be the YOU, that you are meant to be, as you live up to those responsibilities!  Make a difference and create the life that you desire!   Do not settle for a path less than what you would wish for your own children in this life!  Desire more for yourself and they follow your lead!!!   Be well....

Happy Easter to all of my GOOD Blessings!!! keepitbubbly~ xox Jeri