Early on a Sunday morning, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding is playing on the Coffee House Satellite as I attempt to find a few peaceful moments to write a few lines about life’s quests and qualms for my weekly blog post.
Usually, an event throughout the week triggers some kind of spiritual insight or opinion that I can use as a spring board for my post but not this week, as of yet. I saunter into the family room, rest my freshly brewed cup of java on the coffee table, situate myself comfortably on the sofa and close my eyes to focus my thoughts and literally at that moment I’m jolted back to reality by my charming, yet for an early Sunday morning, much too energetic six year old bouncing up onto the sofa beside me, asking if he can take his expensive Team Canada Hockey Jersey to school and simultaneously on my opposite side my wee little lap dog has decided to purposefully paw at my leg as if to say, ‘move that paper from your lap and make room for me!’ All the while I’m still contemplating something inspiring and meaningful to write about…of course you probably know where this is going now.
Let’s back track a bit. That classic tune Dock of the Bay just became a Karaoke Hit at work amongst the English as a Second Language students that my co worker and I teach and perform for. Yup, I said perform for, because that’s what life as an ESL teacher is genuinely like. Always ‘ON’ so to speak, whether it be passionately instructing by way of charades, humour, pictionary or singing. All this to immerse our adult students into language acquisition in hopes that by keeping language learning relaxed and lighthearted that they can feel more readily empowered to absorb the nuances that the English language contains and not feel overwhelmed and/or frustrated. Is it really a coincidence then that at that particular moment in time as I was undecidedly unsure what to write about that the Coffee House played that song? Absolutely not, divine intervention at it’s best. No doubt that it played the song to remind me of the inspiration I provide daily to my students to pursue their goals of language learning. In fact we all have the ability to inspire others and to make people believe in their own goals and dreams. My co worker and I have a deep rooted devotion to our students and we know that the extra mile we go to embrace and empower them comes back tenfold. Ultimately, she’s become more than a co worker, she’s family, but I’ll save that for another post.
Meanwhile, on my right side my darling little boy still continues to bounce, his eyes sparkling with delight as I offer him a compromise for taking his Jersey to class by suggesting we take a picture of him wearing it for the ‘star of the week’ wall instead. Again, another reminder that my own compassion and yours too, is a trait that enables us to willingly compromise with others and thus spread positive energy.
Oh and not to forget the pawing puppy!, whose desire for closeness and unconditional bonding by way of cozying up onto someone’s lap as a just reminder for the unyielding desire we all have for companionship and in turn our willingness to love and be loved. Too much? Well maybe, but it’s amazing to witness how being present in the moment can offer one so many presents. Simplistic yet beautiful reminders of what we can offer others on a daily basis.
We are all unique individuals with the capacity to brighten the world we live in from moment to moment. As I was desperately struggling to write a profound and useful blog post the universe in a matter of seconds, nudged me to remember those naturally intrinsic qualities that are an innate part of humanity.
Kick back, take a look around at how you shape your world from moment to moment. I bet you’ll be surprised about just how valuable you are to those around you, not to mention that you might just get the material you need to write a genuinely sincere blog post. I certainly did.
~ Reiki Regards,
Jenn