Does the world revolve around you?

Colleagues,

Lesson 3 from Thanksgiving with a fractured family: We choose to make it about us or to see a bigger picture.
 
One of the first lessons I teach beginning teachers is that student behavior is rarely about the teacher.
 
How we behave says more about us than the people we are with.
 
We live in a world where companies have gotten very good at capturing and holding our attention by pushing us to experience anger.
 
We live in a world where political “leaders” have gotten very good at influencing our actions by pushing us to experience anger. With an unwholesome dose of fear added.
 
Inevitably, the anger and fear people are experiencing is turned on others, on you. But that anger and fear is not about you!
 
This matters, because when you accept it isn’t about you, the pain and resentment lessen.
 
Letting go of those negatives allows us to be better at carrying out the previous lessons.
 
When we know it isn’t about us, it is easier to choose to show up as our best selves. It is easier to be like water. 
 
Like way too many families in the United States, mine has been fractured by politics and disagreement. At the same time, we have been reminded by loss and grief how important family is. As members of my extended family sought to find common ground or at least to move forward in a constructive way, I was reminded of five important lessons this week. I hope these lessons find meaning in both your personal and professional lives.
 
Today’s intention: Think about situations or relationships where anger and fear are present. Can you work to let it go of the negatives, even just a little bit?

Cheers!

Frederick