Waste: Finding Balance in a Demanding World
Day 41 of 80 Days of Excellence
From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis
Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter
To complain without action or to pour yourself out without reservation: both of these habits are a waste. Not all bad things are worth belaboring. All good things are not you-things that you have to do. Sometimes a desert of exhaustion and despair is of our own making.
Right now, we have a long weekend off school. Part of what I’m doing is to rest and recover! Looking through old journal entries, I came across a poem I wrote on February 24, 2016 entitled “Waste” that spoke to me about the challenge we all face not to waste our lives complaining about what we can’t change or pouring ourselves into causes we’re not called to do.
Waste
There are those who will tell you every wrong.
Listen and they’ll sing their song.
“Woe is me. Poor me – sad me. Everything ill.
So, sit here and hear me complain and I will.”
Crystal spider webs can be woven to make a strong line,
So do grumblers who weave their own straight jacket one tiny complaint at a time.
Then there are those with no boundary
They’ll do their job and others’ without quandary.
But one day they wake up and have lost their art
No thanks. No joy. Just broken heart.
They pour out their pitcher until it dries up
And stare open mouthed at their empty cup.
Oh the happy soul who strikes the chord
Of harmonious balance, each day looking toward.
They don’t whine and complain nor everything touch,
Their life has purpose with some sense left to clutch.
Oh to balance life tween thick and thin, with joy left to put it all in
No binding vest or empty vase, just life to the full with nothing a waste.
By Vicki Davis
I hope you’re encouraged to find balance in your life as you seek to make things better and find your purpose. You’re called to something but not everything. You’re called somewhere but you can’t physically be everywhere.
Life is full of choices. The best among us make those choices.
- They work where they can make a difference.
- They refuse to complain pointlessly.
- They steward their lives as the finite and precious resource that they are.
Nobody is making more time and nobody is making any more of you. You’ve got to make choices about the best way to spend you and your time and nobody can do that for you. But if you burn out and wear out and there’s no more of you, you can’t really do anyone any good, can you?
Today, examine your past week. Did you complain pointlessly at any time? Are you pouring your time and energy into too many things? Even worse, are you pouring them into things that aren’t really a calling for you anymore? Reflect and take action.
The post Waste: Finding Balance in a Demanding World appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!
From http://www.coolcatteacher.com/waste-finding-balance-demanding-world/
via Vicki Davis at coolcatteacher.com. Please also check out my show for busy teachers, Every Classroom Matters and my Free teaching tutorials on YouTube.
