Love...and Life

This past weekend, I immersed myself in a family wedding. What an uplifting experience.

We’ve lived away from our hometown for almost 20 years and have always been a bit quiet. I tell people that I’m a born introvert who’s learned to act like an extravert for brief periods of time. Growth mindset, right? I still can’t say it’s natural, however I enjoy it more and more as time goes on.

The power in this day became apparent when we were at the ceremony. The atmosphere was relaxed and convivial from the beginning. I’m more of spiritual person as opposed to a religious one. The priest set the tone for me well when his sermon focused on what love looks like in practice. I like descriptive examples, being a visual learner.

I began applying the term in my mind (yes, sorry, my mind did wander, I admit) in more broad terms than marital love. I looked around at the crowd. So many faces I either did not know or recollect only from years gone by. We change. We evolve. But there are some universals to consider.

What is this “love” thing?

I’ve been writing lately on teacher emotional & social support, the type 1 diabetes I have and of the hobbies and interests I have grown to embrace. There’s quite a bit of weight and seriousness (and sometimes complete fluff) to those subjects. I made some connections when I interchanged “love” and “life” in my mind that I thought were worth considering.

Life is passion.

When we’re really living, we are doing what makes us happy and fills our buckets. I’ve said this before: I want a life that I don’t feel the need to take a vacation from in order to escape from it. I wish that for everyone. Living with passion. Loving with passion. Those are huge gifts. Finding  ways to them can be a life’s work.

The passions in my life that I never dreamed of include learning to work with students, running, jamming to Korean pop, writing to and about teachers, blogging and having all this plus 2 children. Your passions will be wonderfully different than mine. There’s such beauty to that.

Life is sharing.

Oh, it’s so much easier to remain silent. It’s so much safer to fade into the woodwork. I have made a fool of myself and probably angered a person or two over the years as I’ve opened up more and more. However, I think I’ve helped once or twice. I've learned and grown immensely. I’ve included my voice with others’ voices in solidarity and I’ve been a voice of dissent that's lead to overall growth in our combined understandings. Sometimes, I do some good. Sometimes, I make huge mistakes. It’s important to keep trying and building.

Couples need to share things in order to build their ties. The same goes for all of us. Life is about making connections and seeing ourselves in others. There was a bunch of giving for this weekend’s successful (and fun) events- well before the wedding day. A reminder: when in doubt, give.

Life is everything and anything.

I’ve touched on it above but it bears repeating in detail. At this wedding, there was a rainbow of personalities, skills, beliefs, abilities, interests and perspectives in attendance. I have my thing. Every other person in that celebration had theirs. As it should be.

We danced. We sang. We ate. We drank. We laughed. We cried. Together.

We came from all directions and regardless of time and distance, shared experience brings us Together.

We’re stronger together. That’s love. That’s life.

Best wishes to the new couple and to all of us through Life!!

Love and life. Teachers love their lives but sometimes it gets away from us. We’re well into July- there’s still time to order a copy on Amazon of my guided journal, Dear Teachers, for yourself or the special teachers in your life! Dear Teachers makes a great gift of positive encouragement for education professionals- if you are an administrator, principal, youth group leader or home schooler please contact me to discuss its value to your staff!

Email me dearteachers2017@gmail.com for signed copies and special bulk pricing opportunities.