Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude!

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

~Melody Beattie, Self-Help Author

What's more important?

“The things which are not measurable are more important than those which are measurable. ”

~Alexis Carrel (1873-1944);

French surgeon; Nobel Laureate

I love this quote and I love that it's from a scientist/physician. One reason why I've always chaffed under NCLB and the push for standardized testing in education is because of this, that quality and depth and relevance all far outweigh anything you could ever hope to quantify.

Guerrilla Gardening

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"Where flowers bloom, so does hope."
~Lady Bird Johnson

First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson was instrumental in promoting the Highway Beautification Act, which was nicknamed "Lady Bird's Bill" and sought to beautify the nation's highway system by limiting billboards and by planting roadside areas.

Here's a idea inspired by Lady Bird- an act of civil not-so-much-disobedience as rouge-joyology, call it pirate-beautification, if you will.

Packets of flowers are pretty cheap at garden stores this time of year. Why not buy a bunch, keep some in your pocket or your car or purse and randomly plant some flowers where ever you go? Along a roadside, in an empty planter box by the post office or downtown... wherever you think the world could use some brightening! Think of it as rebelling against the pervasive pessimism, cynicism, and nihilism in this world! Sort of reverse-vandalism.

Mind you, Doctor Joy accepts no responsibility or liability for any legal or civil headaches that may ensue if you get caught. If Johnny Law doesn't like you spreading flower seeds wherever you go, you're on your own, Kid!

Wanna be happy?

"The only really happy people
are those who have learned
how to serve."

~Albert Schweitzer

You get what you give-

"Good cannot flow
towards you,
unless
it flows
from you."

~Norman Vincent Peale

Change your life!

"People can alter their lives by altering their attitudes."

~William James

Experience...

"Experience
is not what happens to you,
it is what you do
with what happens to you."

~Aldous Huxley

It is not what you do...

"It is not what you do,
but how much love
you put into it
that matters."
~Mother Theresa

It starts with you

"Everyone thinks of changing the world,

but no one ever thinks to change himself."

~Leo Tolstoy

It's what's on the inside that counts

"A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

~Roald Dahl (1916-1990)

Reminder

"You can make more money,
but you can't make more time"

~Anonymous

The reason most are unhappy

“The reason people find it so hard
to be happy is that they always see
the past better than it was,
the present worse than it is,
and the future less resolved than it will be”
~ Marcel Pagnol

The Golden Rule

"Do to others as you would have them do to you."
~Luke 6:31

Usually when you think of the Golden Rule, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," you think of what NOT to do. Don't hurt people, don't be mean or rude.

But what if you look at it as what TO DO to people? How do you wish people would treat you? What are your needs? Nobody ever seems to notice. Gosh it would be nice if SOMEbody would say something nice once in a while...

Be proactive about it. Say hello, smile, notice how hard people work and what they contribute. Go out of your way to be friendly, kind, patient, encouraging, supportive, amiable, amicable, understanding, sympathetic, empathetic, caring, warm and congenial. When you do, you're making the world a better place, at least for that one person, at least for a little while. And when you do, guess what? Other people are going to be much more likely to treat you the same way. Hopefully just when you need it most.

Try it and see? If there's two things in life that are true, no matter what your political persuasion and no matter what your religious beliefs it's these: we're all in this together, and what goes around comes around. Call it the rule of love, call it "positive vibes," call it what you will, abiding by the Golden Rule makes everybody's life a little better.

Encourage one another

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 

~1 Thessalonians 5:11

You can't believe how meaningful and powerful encouragement is. As a cheerleading coach I try to impress upon my cheerleaders that this is really their main purpose. Last night at our annual school awards banquet, I explained (nervously) that cheerleaders are supposed to promote unity, a sense of identity, community and above all- support and encourage the teams. 

Pretty exhausted from all of our typical end-of-the-year work, I kinda figured that my pontificating had pretty much just fallen on deaf ears. This morning, our student council advisor had left me a note: "Great job tonight. I love your school spirit! Thanks for all you do." That short little thing was just the thing I needed to rekindle my enthusiasm to keep on truckin' through these last couple of school weeks.

We can all do it. I admit that I need to practice it more and not just preach it. It doesn't have to take much- just a word or two, maybe a smile. Like Johnny Appleseed planting trees, you may never see the difference it makes. Or, you may just be surprised at the bountiful harvest you'll enjoy- positive feelings, positive attitudes. More people will like you and appreciate you and guess what- other people may just encourage you and build you up! Wouldn't that be great? What goes around, comes around.

I also try to teach my cheerleaders that it's part of their job to positively influence the culture and climate of our school. Ya think maybe that trying to encourage others might be a good way to do that? 

Really simple things. Saying please and thank you, smiling, waving, calling people by name, actually making eye-contact. These are so small that you'd think they were inconsequential, wouldn't you? Or how about the lost art of writing thank-you notes? (I actually got one from a recent graduate yesterday.) These tiny, simple things don't sound like they'd make much difference in the world, but what if we all made more of an effort to do encourage one another? Just imagine what a difference it could make.

"Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love…
Perfect kindness acts
without thinking of kindness."
~ Laozi, 570-490 BCE

Do SOMEthing!

"The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake."
~Meister Eckhart

How to be happy

"Those who are happiest
are those who
do the most for others."

~Booker T. Washington

Going out on a limb...

"Why not go out on a limb?
That's where the fruit is!"

~Mark Twain

Attitude Check!

"Attitudes

are more important

than facts"

~Karl Menninger

Love, Sacrifice, Service, and Respect

"The keys in life are the depth of your love to everyday people -- so you sacrifice much  -- and the quality of your service to ordinary folk -- so you treat them with respect!"

~Professor Cornel West

Determined dispositions

‎"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."

~Martha Washington

Socrates asks teachers...

Make up your mind

"Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties" ~Helen Keller


"Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world." ~Helen Keller

Make yourself happy, read some comics!

Bet you didn't know that May 5 was a national holiday!

Comics make you happy, they make you forget your problems and feel better.

So make sure you read some funnies today. Here are a couple of the most popular places on the WWWeb for reading comics:

http://comics.com

http://www.gocomics.com

You may not know it, but Dr. Joy used to be an aspiring cartoonist himself. 

After a mid-life crisis, he pretty much abandoned that path,
but you can read more about National Cartoonist's Day
and browse through years of his cartoons at his other blog:

http://tedstoons.blogspot.com/search/label/National%20Cartoonist%20Day

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day

I would have been remiss not to post something about teachers this week. After all, the original inspiration for this blog was to encourage morale among my colleagues. Especially in a day and age when politicians seek to bust our unions and society seems to blame us for all it's ills, and especially this time of year when we're buried in paperwork and stress, it is important to remember that we're in this for the kids.

"When you teach a child, you teach the child's child." 

~The Talmud

"I touch the future. I teach." ~Christa McAuliffe

"None of us would be at Harvard without the influence of our teachers, and we are hard pressed to find a more noble profession,
or a more rewarding one." ~Susannah B. Tobin 

in the October 8, 1998 issue of the Harvard Crimson

Dignity

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

Direct you perspective

"Walk towards the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you" -Anonymous