1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,760
I mean you're much awarded in your career. You know you've earned high honors and now

2
00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:14,880
you're moving on to something that's new and maybe you'll have awards and maybe you'll

3
00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:22,720
be the top of your field, whatever it is you choose, this or maybe you won't and does it

4
00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:34,640
really matter or is it enough to be able to feed yourself and have people who love you

5
00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:42,880
and that you love and can that just be enough and I think that's really a difficult thing in our culture.

6
00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:54,480
Thank you for joining me for another episode of Life Snacks Lesson Plan. I'm Rachel and I

7
00:00:54,480 --> 00:01:00,480
started this podcast during my 29th and last year as a high school teacher. The goal of my work with

8
00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:06,000
Life Snacks Lesson Plan as well as my Live and Learn Patreon is to create a connection where we

9
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:12,080
are all teachers. We all have lessons and stories to share that can help others. I'm so fortunate

10
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:17,120
to be able to extend the four walls of my previous classroom to an unlimited audience

11
00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:23,200
where we can all learn from each other and my guests are some of the most inspirational people

12
00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:28,080
with the best stories and lessons I know which is why I want to share them with you.

13
00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:33,360
Their words are something everyone should hear. It is my hope that you are able to take away

14
00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:39,520
something from each episode to apply to your own life whether that be a career search, path to a

15
00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:50,240
more fulfilling life or new ideas on current topics. So I'm very honored today to be able to welcome

16
00:01:50,960 --> 00:02:00,080
former colleague and friend of mine. I was trying to think how many years I have known you

17
00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:12,640
and it must be most of my teaching career. So if I started at Homestead in fall of 1997,

18
00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:18,080
you were there then, correct? Yes. Okay, so it would be 28 years.

19
00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:28,000
Holy cow. Yes. So Ann and I taught English together and then she became department chair

20
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:34,880
and wow, yeah, we've known each other for 28 years. So I will let her give you a little bit

21
00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:42,560
more background on herself before we launch into today's episode. Well, gosh, that's like the big

22
00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:48,160
question, you know, tell me about yourself. I'll try to keep it kind of in keeping with some of

23
00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:54,560
the things I'm going to talk about today. So, you know, I kind of bounced around in my life. I didn't

24
00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:59,120
start out in teaching that wasn't my intention at least I grew up in a small town, Wisconsin.

25
00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:06,720
The oldest of nine kids met my husband here when we were at Wisconsin. He was a microbiology

26
00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:16,080
major, but then became a pilot and I started out in engineering at Wisconsin and took a course,

27
00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:22,160
my freshman year called Radio TV Filming Society, no social media back then, but I'm

28
00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:28,400
fascinating and ditched engineering and kind of went that way. So I did my undergraduate work in

29
00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:35,840
radio TV and film and then we got married right out of college and decided that we were going to

30
00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:41,920
have a family right away. And so I went back to teaching got my teaching certification at the

31
00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:50,080
master's level then. And he was working on his pilot certificate at the same time had had the

32
00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:58,000
kids right away. And then I finished the teacher certification and was unable to get a job because

33
00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:04,240
I hadn't taken English 101 and English 102. I had passed out of that and I done the extension test

34
00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:10,560
or whatever at Wisconsin. So I had to go back and take English 101 and English 102 at Kichwa

35
00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:15,680
Community College and all that. And in the midst of all of that, like, what's hearing from people?

36
00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:22,400
Oh, you know, are you a teacher and all those old thoughts like those who can do those who can't

37
00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:28,400
teach and all that kind of thing. So I did a brief little detour for air traffic control training

38
00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:37,440
when I kind of started buying all that nonsense about teaching. So that did not work out. Eric

39
00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:43,440
and I started our training. I was an Oklahoma City and he was in Miami. I mean, I'm a very same day

40
00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:53,760
in I think 1980, something or other. And so I went back and I actually, you know, started teaching

41
00:04:53,760 --> 00:05:02,560
and and loved it. It was a great combination for me for having a family, having travel benefits,

42
00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:11,120
being a caregiver by nature. And I think being by a leader by nature, there were lots of opportunities

43
00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:17,920
for me to grow into different parts of education. I know ultimately we're going to talk about how

44
00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:25,680
I decided to leave teaching. So I guess I could just go straight to that. I think that I taught

45
00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:34,320
for 30 years. I was in Lile, Illinois for a while, and then Peachtree City, Georgia, and then

46
00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:43,440
at Homestead. And I think I started to feel like I was experiencing the same things over and over

47
00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:49,840
again. And I know that you talked in your first episode about the Transylvanianists and I had to

48
00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:56,080
say that every year when I taught Walden, I would, I would tell the kids probably for the last 10

49
00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,880
years, you know, I'm not sure I'm going to be here next year because he leaves the woods because

50
00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:06,560
there are so many other lives to live. And I think that that's really what happened for me, that

51
00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:14,080
had been enough. And also there was, you know, there were some political times in teaching.

52
00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:23,120
I retired in 2014. And so when there was an early out incentive, I remember I was sitting at the

53
00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:29,280
awards ceremony as the department chair and soon the leaders was the social studies department

54
00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:35,280
chair. And she said to me, are you going to take the offer? And I said, what offer? And she said,

55
00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,000
well, there was an email this afternoon that the first five people who

56
00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:47,040
want to take the early out option, you know, can have it. So there was that fear of missing out

57
00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:53,200
of course, you know, so there was a quick discussion about it. And my kids were, well, as you know,

58
00:06:53,200 --> 00:07:00,240
you worked with Molly in particular at Alpstead and she'd graduated and it just was just the right

59
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:07,120
time. So I think it was a matter of kind of noticing it for a long time and then just

60
00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:14,240
finding the courage to take that step while the opportunity arose. Yeah, I can definitely relate

61
00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:21,920
to that. Yeah, those darn trans and dentalists pushing us out of our comfort zone. So in your

62
00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:27,600
time at all the places that you taught, do you have, I mean, we all have stories, but do you

63
00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:33,280
have either a funny memory or something just memorable in general from your days in the classroom?

64
00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:37,760
You know, I thought a lot about this one in the car, so you could everybody does. Yeah,

65
00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:43,360
some of them are so art-gourmy and some of them are art-breaking. Yeah, I'm just gonna go with the

66
00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:50,240
funny and maybe I didn't know why it always, it still makes me shahal. And it hopefully is

67
00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:59,120
appropriate for this podcast, but it was the first time we actually had done a full-on bring the

68
00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:08,400
buses in and vacate the school shooter practice. And I mean, there had just been such a ramp up for

69
00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:14,160
this and we all had signs in our room that had our names on them and you know, we had to drill

70
00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,480
the kids forever like they were supposed to follow us, like we left and have it big. Well,

71
00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:25,520
my last name of course is Cook, C-O-O-K. And so here we are, everything's on and I am walking,

72
00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:32,480
you know, proudly holding my five-banner high when Dave Markson and Todd Raina came to the

73
00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:38,880
guidance counselor said, came up behind me and they were just like so worked up and I said,

74
00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:45,760
what is going on? And they said, do you know what your sign says? And I said, no, I have no idea,

75
00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:51,920
I'm assuming it's my last name. Well, of course, whoever had made the sign had put the

76
00:08:53,600 --> 00:09:02,400
ear of the pole for to hold the sign over the half of the second O. And so from that

77
00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:10,240
back side of it, no longer said Cook. We were out there marching and it was just, I'm asked so hard

78
00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:16,160
and I still chuckle about it. And it was just, I don't know, it was a good reminder to me that

79
00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:22,320
just to keep a sense of you are in the middle of everything. So yeah, one of many.

80
00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:30,400
That's so, you just never know what is going to pop up in a day. Yeah. Yeah.

81
00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:39,920
All right, so obviously you kind of keep in touch with what's going on in the world in general and

82
00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:47,440
you still have a lot of friends in education. So what are some of the things that you have heard

83
00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:53,120
as sort of primary changes maybe from when you left or even definitely from when we started

84
00:09:53,840 --> 00:10:00,400
teaching? What are some of the things that you have heard as being kind of in the forefront

85
00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:06,080
of how education has changed? I think probably a technology is the

86
00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:13,360
component of the change. I mean, I'm so, I've been at this so long, I started out with the

87
00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:20,720
Purple Ninja Grag Machines and I remember that the first modem that the German teacher in

88
00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:25,440
H3 City used, you know, I was so, you're kind of making that squeaky scratching noise. So

89
00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:30,720
it was so exciting we could connect with somebody in Germany so the kids could speak with that.

90
00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:40,000
But I left, I mean, phones were really starting to be a thing when I retired and I am happy not

91
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:46,560
to have had to spend a lot of time dealing with that. I think they can be very helpful or productive.

92
00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:52,320
I'm constantly searching online, but I also suffered from the addiction that I think that a lot of

93
00:10:52,320 --> 00:11:01,680
people had including students and I was out before social media was as big as it was. And so I know

94
00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:08,800
I spent a lot of my time and energy as a teacher dealing with emotional support for kids. So I'm

95
00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:16,640
happy, you know, not to be part of that. I think that's probably the biggest thing I have heard

96
00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:27,040
things from people about what that means for discipline in the classroom. And I think that,

97
00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:33,840
you know, people are so tuned into the number of likes they have and the metrics on everything.

98
00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:41,520
And I certainly had my experiences with parents in particular for grades, but also kids, you know,

99
00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:51,360
who were just so worried about every little point. And, you know, there was not a whole lot of

100
00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:57,360
love for learning. I think there was dimension in teaching. So I guess in a natural, I'd say

101
00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:05,040
technology is the big thing and more demands for teachers even than when I was there. And I was

102
00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:14,960
exhausted when I finished. So I just can't imagine being asked any more than I had been asked to you.

103
00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:20,480
Yeah, everybody has had pretty much the same answer. And, you know, it's obviously something

104
00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:26,640
parents are seeing as well with just the reactions of their kids when they ask them to get off their

105
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:32,400
phone or and then, you know, it's a whole other conversation to talk about the different, you

106
00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:37,680
know, I actually had this conversation with the students. They talk about it in a different episode

107
00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:42,080
of we had a candid conversation of why the phone is such a stronger pole than a book.

108
00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:49,840
And how it's affecting their attention span is a whole other thing and just the want to be entertained

109
00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:56,720
in these short bursts. So yeah, it's definitely I mean, when I started teaching, there were no

110
00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:01,920
phones, there was no social media, it's just a huge difference. So it will be interesting to see

111
00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:08,720
how that plays out. So if someone should, you know, I'm going to talk about, you know, later

112
00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:17,440
also, I think that the brain is being wired by this constant use of the technology and the constant

113
00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:24,560
looking for a little, you know, the hits of the, you know, the brain chemicals or the

114
00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:29,360
satisfaction that they're going to get, you know, as well as the media as well.

115
00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:35,360
Yeah, I there's a reason that the people who created this technology don't allow their children

116
00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:43,040
to have it, which I find really interesting. So yeah, when you were teaching, I know you are

117
00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:48,400
definitely for me personally on my list as someone who I looked up to in my field. But did you have

118
00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:55,920
like a mentor when you were a teacher or someone or multiple people you would say you looked up to

119
00:13:55,920 --> 00:14:03,360
in education? You know, I think throughout my experiences at the three different schools,

120
00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:10,000
I don't know if I could pick one person in specific. I'd had the good fortune in all three places to

121
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:18,640
land in departments that were very collegial, very sharing, very willing to say, here's my stuff,

122
00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:24,400
this is what's worked for me, and this is why it has not worked for me. So I would say,

123
00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:31,680
that's probably just it that I was very fortunate to be part of really good teams in all the places

124
00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:41,120
that I was. Yeah, we at lunch last week, actually, we're just talking about the past people in the

125
00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:48,000
department at Homestead. And just the differences, you know, there's only a few of us now who have

126
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:56,800
been there for almost three decades or two decades and to watch the changes in personalities and

127
00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:02,960
teamwork. There's just a few of us who can still kind of remember what it used to be like. So

128
00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:11,680
there's changes there too. I would say people are still really willing to share things. It's just

129
00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:17,920
now with teaming, we have like separate teams that gets kind of interesting compared to what it used

130
00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,800
to be like. Well, of course, I probably should mention that I had the great fortune of working

131
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:28,640
with Joe Curley when I was teaming with him for American Studies. And that was, you know, I think

132
00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:34,400
we mentored each other. So I maybe am looking to start working mentor in a specific way. I just

133
00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:39,520
learned so much from him. And, you know, I hope that he learns some things for me. We just had

134
00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:46,160
like a great opportunity to work on that connection between history and literature. And it was

135
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:49,440
fabulous. I don't know, 13 years or something, we got that class together.

136
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:55,760
Wow. Yeah, that was that's such a cool opportunity that I wish we could bring back a little bit.

137
00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:06,560
All right. So we heard about how you knew you were ready to leave. It's funny how I just feel

138
00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:12,640
and identify with what you talked about so much. It's not one thing. It's just sort of an accumulation

139
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:18,160
over time. And then it's just, okay, I'm ready to make that decision. So when you were thinking

140
00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:23,520
about your next chapter, did you have some goals in mind for how you wanted that to look?

141
00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:33,280
No, I really didn't. I, you know, I knew probably all along that I would travel. You know, like,

142
00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:40,560
you know, Eric, he was the pilot for United and he's always, you know, he's tumbleweed. He likes

143
00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:46,960
to go a lot of different places. And I figured probably somewhere that a long hike was in my

144
00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:52,640
future because he had been probably for decades saying he really liked to do this hike across

145
00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:59,920
England or this, you know, hike here or there. And I always said, no. But yeah, and I knew I was

146
00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:07,200
going to be really involved with my family. Even by the time I retired, I had two grandsons and I,

147
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,960
you know, mom, I had just graduated from high school. So I wasn't just

148
00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,920
her to have kids then, but I knew they were becoming down the road. So those were the two

149
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:20,720
things I knew that I was going to be traveling somehow and that I was going to be involved with

150
00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:28,000
family in some way or another. I had no idea as far as a career went, if there was going to be one,

151
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:34,560
there wasn't going to be one. It's just sort of thought I would do one. As it turned out, I didn't,

152
00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:41,680
but yeah. So I didn't have a specific climate. That was part of the anxiety that came with that.

153
00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:49,760
Yes. Retire. So that's what we're kind of going to talk about in your lesson today. So that's what

154
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:55,840
I was going to say. If you went back knowing what happened after you retired, what you're about to

155
00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:02,880
talk about, would you approach retirement differently or no? I don't think so. You know, and I think

156
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:07,920
that's part of what I've learned and what I've done after retirement is that you can't go back.

157
00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:12,320
You can go back and you can look at it, but the past is past and the future is something,

158
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:16,480
it's a construct. You don't know and you're going to be here a minute or two now. So you can,

159
00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:22,080
you should really work on being in the present. And I think all of those things that led me to

160
00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:28,880
making the decision, the way that they made the decision, they were valid. And what happened to

161
00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:35,840
me has like made such a difference in my life that, you know, it was, it was difficult at the time,

162
00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:43,040
but I'm actually, it may sound strange, but I'm happy that it happened. So yeah, when we have those

163
00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:50,560
sort of moments of adversity at the time, obviously it's painful, but you always look back and think

164
00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:55,840
that made me stronger. Like I would not be the person I am if that hadn't have happened. So let's

165
00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:03,440
get into that since we are alluding to it. So do you want to explain how that all went down

166
00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:10,160
after retirement and then the lesson from it? I will. And I will apologize and answer Molly

167
00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:16,320
who probably listened to this and she, she tells me she, she hates when I tell a story that she

168
00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:24,400
feels guilty. And I, I just am going to restate for her that it's not her responsibility to

169
00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:31,920
have made anything, you know, different for me at that moment in my life. I think everyone is

170
00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:41,200
responsible to everyone else should be kind. But she did nothing. Oh, I think in particular,

171
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:48,480
in some instance. So, so obviously, I think that the awards ceremony was sometimes in May or something.

172
00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:55,200
So it wasn't really too, too long before school was out that I decided that I was going to retire.

173
00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:01,440
And then I retired. And of course, I was one of those people who never learned to keep her hands

174
00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:11,440
down. So I was like, I every committee hour. And I was on, you know, as the department chair, I was at

175
00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:16,960
curriculum, house, all that curriculum, console, last day of school, I remember even I had to go to

176
00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:22,560
a district curriculum, a council meeting in the district office. And so when I came back to my

177
00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:28,240
room, actually, everyone else was gone. I just like picked up my bags and walked out, which was just

178
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:36,160
kind of the surreal feeling after having lived, literally, almost lived at that school for such a

179
00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:43,920
long time. And so, Evan was relatively new to Homestead at like tonight, been going to

180
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:48,800
at conferences with the, I don't know, two or three prior songs or something like that.

181
00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:56,080
And of course, I was evidently involved with my family, I still am. And Molly is my youngest,

182
00:20:56,080 --> 00:21:06,320
she had graduated and was on her own. And so it was sometime in July, I think early July, I want to

183
00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:13,760
say, that there was a group I knew the Ink One Epic Conference from Homestead, I wasn't going.

184
00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:24,080
That was normal, I knew that I had retired. And I was, it was late in the afternoon and I was home.

185
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:34,160
And my oldest daughter said to me, Oh, Mom, did you see that Molly went skydiving? And I have no

186
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:44,480
idea why, well, I do, I had a theory on why, why Nick at just absolutely hit me so hard. And I

187
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:51,840
think it was because, and again, Molly, she was 19, she paid for it herself. She was not required

188
00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:58,320
to get my permission. She had no requirement to fill me in about it. But I think it was a really

189
00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:07,200
concrete statement to me that my role as a mother was going to be much different now too, which,

190
00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:13,200
of course, I knew she was already 19. Melissa and Jennifer by that point were, oh gosh, I don't know,

191
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:18,720
I'm they were older. Had me knew we had lost that wish that my children went to grow and leave

192
00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:25,040
home. But I was standing by the kitchen sink maybe an hour later. And all of a sudden, I just

193
00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:33,920
like couldn't breathe. And I ended up on the dining room floor, just absolutely outside of

194
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:39,440
myself is the best way that I can think to describe it. Eric was just sitting home from a flight.

195
00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:48,640
And nobody quite knew exactly what had happened to me. And he, I mean, I was physically fine.

196
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:56,640
Just again, sort of had this sense of myself outside of myself watching me there. And so,

197
00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:01,440
of course, he's a fixer. And he immediately began searching like, what is what were we going to do

198
00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:10,480
about this? And within a few days, I had a whole program at my front door. And what I ended up doing

199
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:17,120
was the mindfulness based stress reduction program through giant cat itself. I did the home program.

200
00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:22,480
So I got the book full catastrophe living and I had, I think there were four CDs at a time,

201
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:32,880
which are still available on his site, which I know it was the long tube. And I just began. And I was

202
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:43,280
I was pretty lost for most of the summer, I would say. I did a thinking, okay, job of hiding it.

203
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:48,160
You know, I interacted with people at a wedding to go to and I, you know, I made it through all

204
00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:58,640
those things. But it was, it was an experience I hope never to have again. But in the end,

205
00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:04,400
in the end, I came out the other side and I had continued with meditation. And I think it has just

206
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:10,800
made such a huge difference in my life. And from other people, I've met a huge difference in there

207
00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:18,400
as well. So you think maybe it was just in that moment, that realization of the shift of identity?

208
00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:25,040
I think so. Yeah, I think so. You know, and I think that that's, I hear this in a lot of the

209
00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:30,240
people who are talking with you and also with people that I've talked with that, the numerous

210
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:37,280
trainings and retreats that I've gone to this identity, you know, the sense of self,

211
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:43,120
which is interesting because in the training that I've done, we've talked a lot about that notion

212
00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:48,560
that self is a construct. There is no self. You can't sit yourself down and look at it. You

213
00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:52,880
can't pick yourself up or carry it there. So there are all these stories that we've been telling

214
00:24:52,880 --> 00:25:02,560
ourselves for so long, that really mindfulness is about taking the time to sit and notice

215
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:11,440
everything about what's going on around you in that present moment and ultimately to become aware

216
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:18,800
of the stories that you tell yourself and that you tell about yourself to others and to get to the

217
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:26,720
truth of what actually is through really paying attention to your life and what is going on in

218
00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:33,040
it. So I think, you know, over these many years now meditating and thinking about myself, I know

219
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:40,560
that my go-to is to step up and, you know, fix the problem as Eric says, you know, anybody's got

220
00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:47,040
a problem. I'm going to be there and sometimes I have to remember. I can see the patterns happening.

221
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:53,440
I take the time to step back and really watch what I'm doing. I can see it happening and

222
00:25:53,440 --> 00:26:00,560
I'm working on being better about not always doing that. One of the exercises early in my

223
00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:05,840
training, I think it was maybe the third class that I was at, we had this puzzle that was for

224
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:11,280
our homework. We were supposed to solve a puzzle and I don't know, do I know why? Do you hear without

225
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:16,560
going through some portion of the object or whatever? I had spent a good bit of time on it and it was

226
00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:23,120
not coming up with a solution and I just decided I'm not going to do it. I don't think ever in my

227
00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:30,880
life have I not finished a homework assignment or done what was expected of me and it was like

228
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:36,080
mind boggling to me to actually do that and then of course we had to go back the next day and,

229
00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:42,960
you know, report our thought process of how we can solve the problem and I was like so excited.

230
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:50,880
I didn't solve the problem and the world is still going on without that. So, yeah, I think it's,

231
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:58,800
it is, I think it was about this awareness that the cell that I had presented for so long was

232
00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:06,000
not there and I didn't have any idea what was next or what would be and I don't know at that point

233
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:12,000
I knew that there would be enough of me which is another context that I'm very interesting

234
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:19,200
and I was with great interest in anesteroelous story and I mean it's very inspiring and their

235
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:26,800
gratitude is also part of the mindfulness practice and I was interested and I thought a lot about

236
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:33,840
what I would do because one big component of mindfulness is non-striving and the notion that

237
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:43,920
you can accept that what is is and you don't have to try so hard for anymore and I was also

238
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:51,520
reminded that the notion of enough I think is so important too as you're moving on to something

239
00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:58,960
else because I feel like a lot of people think well I was, I mean you're much awarded in your

240
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:05,280
career, you know, you've earned high honors and now you're moving on to something that's new and

241
00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:10,000
maybe you'll have awards and maybe you'll be the top of your field whatever it is you choose

242
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:24,240
this or maybe you won't and does it really matter or is it enough to be able to feed yourself and

243
00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:33,120
have people who love you and that you love and can that just be enough and I think that's really a

244
00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:41,200
difficult thing in our culture and I again in the age of social media find that particularly

245
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:46,640
challenging everybody's comparing I mean I do this all the time I go I oh this person's doing this

246
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:51,120
and like this person's doing that and I'm missing out what am I doing and then I talk to other people

247
00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:56,880
they're like oh your life is so cool and I say well it is cool it really is cool but you know

248
00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:05,520
it's just crazy how we get all caught up in that notion of not being enough I was thinking of this

249
00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:12,000
section this thing I read long ago and I looked it up so that I wouldn't miss speak about it but

250
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:18,320
it was Kurt Vonnegut one of my favorite authors he wrote an obituary slash poem for Joseph Power

251
00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:24,160
and it appeared in the New York the New Yorker magazine in May of 2005 and this so these are the

252
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:31,360
words of Vonnegut truth story word of honor Joseph Power an important and funny writer now dead and

253
00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:37,200
I'm wearing a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island I said Joe how does it make you feel

254
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:42,800
to know that our host only yesterday may have made more money than you are that your novel Catch

255
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:49,920
22 has made a missing fire history and Joe said I've got something he can never have and I said

256
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:57,200
what on earth can that be Joe and Joe said the knowledge that I've got enough I thought that was

257
00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:04,800
like really really an important thing not to get so caught up in the next chapter being

258
00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:14,720
some award-winning mind-boggling something that it's okay to find enough you know and I mean I go back

259
00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:20,160
to the transcendentalists right the row is sitting out there is his neighbors think he's nuts he's

260
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:26,480
wasting his time sitting out there and I know you're posting some links to some very Oliver one of

261
00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:32,560
my favorite poets and a lot of her stuff is connected to mindfulness that's one of the poems that I'd

262
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:41,760
give you to post was called mindfulness and it's about just appreciating the time to observe to

263
00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:52,400
be calm to be in solitude to be in silence all those things are so healthy I did not post any links

264
00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:59,760
to any of the neuroscience but for anyone who's interested there's so much out there and we are

265
00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:06,880
learning more and more and more about how the mind and the body are actually connected and so

266
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:18,480
why I was able to bring my myself into my body back to normal you know through the meditation

267
00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:24,400
during that summer so again I encourage people to you know go and take a look at that if they're

268
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:33,600
interested there are people who are using mindfulness to help people quit smoking to stop overeating to do

269
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:41,360
you know all sorts of things yeah that's such an important lesson because one of the first questions

270
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:45,680
you get when you say you're leaving teaching is what are you going to do yeah what are you going

271
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:51,440
to do and for a while I just said I'm gonna breathe yeah I'm gonna breathe I'm gonna take a breath

272
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:58,480
and then I'll figure it out like you know I'll always have a plan but it's like they're waiting

273
00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:04,320
for the bigger better what you know what about your pension what about like you're not even eligible

274
00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:11,680
and I was like no but I'll figure it out and if like you said that involves me walking the dog

275
00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:18,240
every day and picking up a part-time job doing whatever I will have a shelter I will be able

276
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:27,200
to eat I will figure it out I'm going to live yeah so it's an uplay I mean it really it's it's so

277
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:35,440
rewarding and again that's it's like you you're already doing my you know because you your instinct

278
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:45,200
was that you didn't need to do you just need to be and you went to the very focus or anchor that

279
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:52,000
most people use in meditation which is breathing and breathing is the anchor because we have to

280
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:57,440
breathe to live so you know it's the easiest thing to know is going to be there to come back to so

281
00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:05,200
John Kibbenzens says I know that the meditation is is a practice and it's one way of

282
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:15,280
I'm dealing with anxiety or depression or loss of other things but he says it's and in the training

283
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:20,320
you learn about informal practices and formal practices so from the very beginning you know

284
00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:27,280
you're be guided through breathing exercises and body scans 45 minutes for me in the beginning

285
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:34,800
they were absolute torture I mean to be still for 45 minutes at that point in my life was

286
00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:40,560
that there were some days I just really I couldn't do it but then that was their pay to the permission

287
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:46,240
is there to do what your body needs and if you need to stop the body scan at that point you know

288
00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:55,360
you know that's absolutely fine we're just going to take a brief pause here to let our guest gather

289
00:33:55,920 --> 00:34:01,920
her thoughts and then also hear a short message and then we will see you back after the short break

290
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:08,240
to those of you who have followed me for a while you know that I value mental and physical wellness

291
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:13,280
personally I've worked with a few different coaches over the years and even been one myself

292
00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:19,040
if you are looking for education and support in your own wellness journey I would love to invite

293
00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:24,160
you to the wellness community I am currently in that keeps me accountable daily with my nutrition

294
00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:32,080
and movement if you are a facebook user you can search for our free group called team mg this group

295
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:38,400
is led by my coach Megan Grimord who is a certified trainer and nutrition coach she offers lots of

296
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:44,080
education and support for your wellness journey if you want to get to know coach Megan more you can

297
00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:55,040
follow her on instagram at all lowercase Megan M E G A N underscore Grimord G R I M O R D or even

298
00:34:55,040 --> 00:35:01,680
listen to her on episode 10 of the podcast she has also created a discount code for my listeners

299
00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:12,800
just go to her website www.team-mg.com and enter code lesson plan 10 to get $10 off any of her

300
00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:18,960
premium coaching packages for the first month coach Megan is a busy mom like me who works full

301
00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:24,240
time so I appreciate her practicality mixed with some tough love to keep me going

302
00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:33,200
so you were having success with the program at home obviously it was probably helping you you

303
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:39,840
were progressing feeling a little bit better where did your practice evolve from that first at home

304
00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:48,160
program well I never do things like the long stretched out way I guess I think that's when

305
00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:53,040
Eric was doing the research you know for the original program he saw some things about the

306
00:35:53,040 --> 00:36:00,240
astronaut retreats which are 10 days of silence and there was one in October in Menominee, Wisconsin

307
00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:07,600
there's a professional facility there and so I had decided that while I was feeling better why

308
00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:13,840
didn't I apply for the professional retreat and so you know I had to fill out all the information

309
00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:19,200
of like why I was considering coming in everything and I got a very nice phone call from one of the

310
00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:25,680
instructors she said well you know it's kind of kind of quick actor an episode like this

311
00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:33,040
what do you think I said no I'm ready to go and so she said well all right then let's sign you up so

312
00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:40,640
in the meantime I went in for a mammogram and got an suspicious read and so I had to go in for

313
00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:47,760
the biopsy so I called her back and I said out of fairness I may or may not have the results

314
00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:54,400
before I go into 10 days of silence and I let her respect the silence and so maybe I shouldn't come

315
00:36:54,400 --> 00:37:02,160
she said no we will we will deal with it however we need to deal with it so so I went and I did

316
00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:10,320
find out that it was you know just a suspicious read and on the way out there but it was just an

317
00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:18,240
overwhelmingly positive experience once I made it through the first five days there were uh I don't

318
00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:23,840
know how many of us started but like each day and you see people not showing back up to their mats

319
00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:29,920
and so you know where this group was growing smaller and smaller and I was ready to go home on day

320
00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:37,760
five and I went to the instructor he had to sign up so you could speak to them um those were the

321
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:42,720
only people you could speak to and I told her again out of respect I didn't want to just I kept

322
00:37:42,720 --> 00:37:46,240
my car keys with me that was the thing you're supposed to turn to me but I got my car keys with

323
00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:52,960
me because I didn't want to be trapped there yeah but I didn't want to leave either so I um I said

324
00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:57,280
I'm I'm think I'm gonna go home and she said I was just breaking all her rules but if you meet me

325
00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:09,040
at my cabin at lunchtime um what about if I let you talk to your husband and I said well I think

326
00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:14,560
I want to go home and she said well could you just make that commitment and I said okay yes I will

327
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:22,880
do that and so I met her at the cabin I mean I was for sure going home and I called and fortunately

328
00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:28,800
Eric was there I think he was just leaving for a trip or something and he was fabulous I said I

329
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:35,120
could go and come home and um I don't know exactly what he said but he said well you know you you

330
00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:39,440
do what you need to do but if you think you can make it I think it would be really important for

331
00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:48,400
you and so I stayed and it was just um I didn't know this place that you get to where you are

332
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:56,640
sitting on your mat and you're you know that you're watching your breath and you're noticing

333
00:38:56,640 --> 00:39:03,600
where in your body the ache is registering and then this thought comes through your mind about

334
00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:11,120
someone that you hadn't like had an encounter with for 10 years and this this nasty encounter just

335
00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:16,960
kind of flubs through and you notice it and then you notice where you're also feeling that in your

336
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:24,800
body where it's been stored and then you let that go and then you come back to your breathing you know

337
00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:29,760
a thousand times if you need to just keep coming back to the breathing back to the breathing and

338
00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:38,080
after 10 days of that I just felt like a new person just the places that I felt that I got to

339
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:45,200
now the big warning about that of course is that as non-straining as part of mindfulness

340
00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:52,160
when you go back to the mat you can't be you know saying oh gosh I hope I get to that really deep

341
00:39:52,160 --> 00:39:59,120
place again you just go back and you deal with whatever visits you at that you know particular

342
00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:05,440
sitting but that is the big next step and then when that was still a warning of course it not well

343
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:12,480
I still wasn't out in the eating mode I still wasn't like what am I doing for my next career move I've

344
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:18,240
always worked I've always made money and so hardly because of that I think I went on and I took

345
00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:28,000
you know the the John Capiton his program was through UMass and so I think that's the

346
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:33,440
why I started with the follow up training so you take the first MBSR and then you take another

347
00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:39,520
class and then you take another class and then I think I ultimately I ended up in Kataluma,

348
00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:45,200
California taking a teacher training class and I did the teacher training and the teacher certification

349
00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:50,720
and came out of there thinking I actually was going to you know try to make some contacts here

350
00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:56,240
you're pretty much on your own you establish your business some people do go to work for hospitals

351
00:40:56,240 --> 00:41:02,160
they go to work for schools there have been programs associated with schools I know there's some

352
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:08,160
resistance to that at times because it does come John Capiton was in the he was the

353
00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:14,480
umpornist who made it who brought to a secular setting so but in the end I didn't I didn't I just

354
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:21,920
kept practicing so I'm teacher certified and just happy to to do my thing and have to remind myself

355
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:28,800
to go to the mat constantly um have to remind myself to be kind constantly have to remind

356
00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:37,600
myself to start judging myself and others constantly um remind myself to have a beginner's mind and

357
00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:42,880
just to you know take in how beautiful the rain is today and wonder how this works

358
00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:50,640
constantly so it's just a again I asked John I re-listened some things from John Capiton

359
00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:55,680
within the last couple of weeks and this constant reminder that it's not a practice

360
00:41:55,680 --> 00:42:02,080
it's your life it's about living your life in that way so that's where I've been will I teach

361
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:08,400
I still think about it but in the meantime I Eric and I he did talk me into the hike that he had

362
00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:15,200
been wanting to do we started out we did the Wainwright trail in um Northern England so we

363
00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:20,640
hiked from the Irish Sea to the North Sea with our ebony through it from one end to the other

364
00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:27,440
and then we did the Portuguese coastal Camino a couple of years ago it was gorgeous and right now

365
00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:35,600
we're in Portugal um kind of considering we've applied for a visa having a dualist citizenship

366
00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:42,000
and Molly didn't that have the grandson's I knew she'd have kids at some point so we were spending

367
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:48,640
time uh have worked between family and travel just kind of where I was when I retired but with no

368
00:42:48,640 --> 00:42:56,640
specific direction as far as a paid position goes and no rewards no awards no people say oh you're

369
00:42:56,640 --> 00:43:01,520
the best at architecture I've ever had I you know none of that but like this still hold my

370
00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:08,000
best so good yeah you're able to feel settled and just be like you said right and that's enough

371
00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:14,720
yeah it is enough oh I like how you mentioned the reminders that you still have to give yourself

372
00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:19,440
on a daily basis it's not like to go to these trainings and you're like I'm fixed I'm good

373
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:27,840
like I never have to continue to practice these things yeah yes so when we talk about the action

374
00:43:27,840 --> 00:43:33,520
steps that people can apply to their own lives obviously there's a ton of resources and these

375
00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:40,240
trainings and things um but can you share with us for the people listening what would you suggest

376
00:43:40,240 --> 00:43:51,200
if they wanted to apply some of these practices to their own life I would say that um again I would

377
00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:57,280
recommend the the program the Jack Harrison program because it's set up in an eight week schedule and

378
00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:05,600
it has something every day so if you you know if you really I am not disciplined enough I have an

379
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:12,960
exercise you know unless someone says this is what you will do and then I'm okay at doing it so um

380
00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:21,840
I could look for a program with that or maybe uh I felt like I was held accountable by that program

381
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:27,200
also even though there was nobody on the other end of it that's always the challenge I think when

382
00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:30,960
I'm starting something because I think otherwise you'd say well I'm gonna meditate and you could

383
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:42,160
pick any one of thousands literally of um meditation leaders there and um and and maybe that would

384
00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:48,960
work also so I guess you know maybe it's just fine to start just start start small don't worry about

385
00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:57,600
you know if five minutes is a long time for you to sit that's normal and if you feel like you have

386
00:44:57,600 --> 00:45:05,280
a monkey mind as they call it the entire time I mean I still have monkey mind there are days where

387
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:11,600
I'm like I get down and like well that was a day that was just a different day but then I can notice

388
00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:18,880
well where was that monkey mind going to and why was that and you know and it can be some of the

389
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:23,920
same things that same person showed up in that 10 day retreat you know like show up tomorrow

390
00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:29,120
has showed up a couple times in the past and it's not like it's a permanent fix but it's a way of

391
00:45:30,240 --> 00:45:39,360
your life so I think just get started um and then remember too that the on the formal practice I

392
00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:44,080
think this is one of the things I started to say earlier I didn't is the it while practice so there's

393
00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:50,240
as much to be gained from taking that beginner's mind and raising your mindfulness you know making

394
00:45:50,240 --> 00:45:57,680
it metacognition I'm aware that I'm being mindful right now I am going to stop and I'm going to sit

395
00:45:57,680 --> 00:46:07,200
here and I am going to just listen to the sounds for for five minutes and I am going to be in control

396
00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:12,240
you know and get rid of all the other things of course you will because things will you know but

397
00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:18,000
you're trying and you just keep doing that and the other thing I would do is you know maybe um do

398
00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:24,560
some of the research or just a little bit of looking around about the physical um benefits again

399
00:46:24,560 --> 00:46:30,960
what the mind-body connection is it's way beyond just um you're being calm for a couple of minutes

400
00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:39,840
it's just it's fascinating stuff and um so I would dig into that I did put some poems in the um the

401
00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:47,040
links and I find those to be helpful also and that may just be my literature background that

402
00:46:47,040 --> 00:46:51,520
reading makes such a connection for me but there's just some beautiful stuff that really

403
00:46:52,160 --> 00:46:59,360
makes me feel and as I'm feeling those things um reminds me to keep you know to keep with the

404
00:46:59,360 --> 00:47:05,760
mindfulness so I should be eating my ukulele you could um in your 15 minute lunch that you have

405
00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:11,680
you know at school uh you know just notice even if it's just noticing how quickly you're ripped

406
00:47:11,680 --> 00:47:19,840
open that you'll be you know gobbled it down or can you slow it down can you just uh reduce the

407
00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:25,360
anxiety and the other thing I would say to put into practice and my my grandkids would probably

408
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:31,040
chuckle a favor with us is to practice kindness you know it was one of the principles that was

409
00:47:31,040 --> 00:47:36,320
sort of added on at the end it's it's under generosity I guess and I think when people say

410
00:47:36,320 --> 00:47:40,480
generosity they'd be like oh well you should donate your clothing or you should you know

411
00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:47,440
mere money but I think generate or excuse me uh donating your kindness is is a really important

412
00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:53,040
thing and again I had to work at this all the time you know some driver cuts me off at time you

413
00:47:53,040 --> 00:48:00,240
know just as quick some days as everybody else but you know and Eric laughs at me a bunch when I

414
00:48:00,240 --> 00:48:04,000
say well maybe that guy's trying to you got to get to the hospital or maybe this or maybe that

415
00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:10,880
and maybe not but maybe so we don't know and so it doesn't it doesn't hurt to be kind and you

416
00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:16,560
don't have to be let don't be get yourself trampled upon but just be kind if you like the world would

417
00:48:16,560 --> 00:48:22,880
be such a great place if people could just be kind sure give a little extra grace when you when you

418
00:48:22,880 --> 00:48:32,640
can't yeah so are you leaving us today with a poem oh I could I don't you know I have Helena

419
00:48:32,640 --> 00:48:39,440
Bonham Carter reading the guest house and I think she does she does such a good job but I won't try

420
00:48:39,440 --> 00:48:45,120
to compete with her but I will do that I have this one um written down okay so all right this is by

421
00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:52,160
Rooney and if you go to any of the training with Snell hear him all the time so so again the poem

422
00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:58,960
in translation of course the guest house this being human is a guest house every morning a new

423
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:05,920
arrival a joy a depression a meanness some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected

424
00:49:05,920 --> 00:49:13,360
misager welcome and entertain them all even if they're a crowd of sorrows will violently sweep

425
00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:20,400
your house and give us furniture still treat each guest honorably he may be clearing you out for

426
00:49:20,400 --> 00:49:28,640
some new delight the dark plot the shame the malice meet them at the door laughing and invite them in

427
00:49:29,680 --> 00:49:37,600
be grateful for whoever comes because age has been sent as a guide wow it's like being in your

428
00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:46,320
classroom what a great message to end on and we're all human right we're just trying to be

429
00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:55,360
and exist in the world yes yeah and again to be and to do is great but should be is is the the

430
00:49:55,360 --> 00:50:02,880
most important that's awesome I thank you so much for sharing all of your what happened today so great

431
00:50:03,360 --> 00:50:13,520
yes I hope you found Anne's words and mindfulness helpful it's so important to remind ourselves

432
00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:19,920
to just be in the moment next episode I will be back with a new lesson and more takeaways to apply

433
00:50:19,920 --> 00:50:26,160
to your classroom or to your life if you are looking for more lessons and more personal content

434
00:50:26,160 --> 00:50:32,160
join my live and learn patreon there I share more in-depth content and we've been having

435
00:50:32,160 --> 00:50:38,800
some pretty intimate conversations on current topics you can subscribe for each week or

436
00:50:38,800 --> 00:50:45,120
purchase individual episodes if the topic interests you in the meantime please be sure to follow us

437
00:50:45,120 --> 00:50:51,840
at life's next lesson plan on instagram facebook and youtube as well as apple podcasts or spotify

438
00:50:52,480 --> 00:50:58,720
you can visit our website at life's next lesson plan dot com to subscribe to our email newsletter

439
00:50:58,720 --> 00:51:05,120
suggest a guest or topic for the pod or submit your ask the teacher anything questions we'll see

440
00:51:05,120 --> 00:51:12,400
you next episode