Work Theme -Getting ready for back to school (aka work)

Laughing Buddha
Tanzhe Temple Beijing

It's August, and that's when I start getting a bit antsy, my heart start racing, my mind won't stop spinning, I start to feel the beginning of an anxiety attack creep in.

The summer, as I've come to know it - working in the yard, Tuesday Bay day, sleeping on the trampoline (the older you are, the less comfy it is), star gazing, creative conjuring, and idyllic frolicking all come to an end.  Soon my days begin to be filled with early to bed, alarm clocks, schedules, morning scrambles, rushing here and there, deadlines looming, time slipping away, all in preparation to greet giggling grins all day long - yes it's back to work I go.

This year, my work day will be so much more relaxed.  I will embrace that working with children (and their parents) creates a whole different set of deadlines and tasks.  In fact, I'm going to remove deadlines and to-do's from my list of work related words.  No more, done, caput.  I will focus on the great opportunity that I have to share my day with children - the future leaders of America.

I will smile more.
When you smile, this breaks the ice and opens the doorway of communication.  After all, the goal of any school is to provide the best education possible for the children attending.

I will focus on the child, rather then on what the parent throws out to the world.  A child is not necessarily the  reflection of their parent (although the apple usually falls pretty close to the tree).  I can help teach children some life tools to add to their tool kit of life.  Tools and skills that will help them learn to embrace their creativity, uniqueness, passions, and life force.

This year Transformer, Flash Gordon, J&H, Caterwaul, and others, will fill me with humorous stories that I will then share with you.

My daughter will remember the funny stories I'm going to share rather then the frustrating ones of working with children and their parents (who are usually in denial).

This school  year, my work word will be:  LAUGH

My 2012 Theme

Yesterday I read a post from Your Kick Ass Life which discussed having a theme for the New Year rather then creating a New Year Resolution.   I was quickly taken back.  Deep down I love goals, yet I swore off New Year's Resolutions many years ago.

I'm one of those goal oriented people (this can be a great asset when you don't have to rely on your will power).  I have a great knack at being able to make goals, break them into bite size pieces, persisting until they are accomplished.  However, I have found that New Years Resolutions usually work for about a week!  After which time, this self defeating cycle starts to happen.  I become too hard on myself; I create even harder, more unrealistic resolution, which again only last for a week as well.  This self defeating cycle continues, until finally the summer arrives and I feel like I can escape the clenching grasps of my failed New Years Resolutions.   After too many failed Resolutions, I decided to break the cycle - I swore off New Year's Resolutions. 

Now an alternate idea is presented to me - a theme for the coming year.  I love it.  It's a way that allows for the universal flow to happen, a way to keep open the needs of my emotional and psychological being while also satisfying my physical mind (who is really good at being keenly aware of potential possibilities (doors) that I may not have been aware of before).

I cleared my mind of all ego satisfying ideas, and allowed my emotional and psychological sides to speak up.  From a far corner of my mind came a clear echoing word.  It reverberated around my mind like a small child who's been ignored and needs my attentions now.  It's.....

****CREATE****

How could I ignore this?  I couldn't.

After the word 'Create' came echoing into my mind, I read a post from a true inspiration, a living legacy, and one who I have the honor of knowing - Amir Jackson creator of Nurture the Creative Mind.  If you don't know him, you should. 

Amir has an amazing talent of creating works of art with words.  Amir wrote, "My theme for 2012. Here is to creating magic, designing possibilities, and building a legacy. The moment it is conceived it is real. The moment it is believed it can be realized."

I'd like to borrow (steal) the last two sentences and add this to my theme: 

Create; because once it's been conceived - it's real. Once it's believed - it's realized.

So, I will Create.