2-22-2019

Mary’s Minute

“The time you feel lonely is the time you most need to be by yourself.”       

                                                                           ~ Douglas Coupland

We can talk about introverts and extroverts, but regardless I still believe that we are social beings.  We feed off of interactions with others, we learn from each other, and we get joy by being with others.  We are wired to interact with others.

Yet, whether we are introverts who openly embrace their need to be alone, or extroverts who get energy from others, we all need our alone time.  It is in the peace of being alone that we gain a sense of who we really are.  We have all heard the expression that we can’t love someone else until we truly love ourselves.  We can gain the love of ourselves by taking time to be alone – alone to do things we want to do, to breath, and to simply be. 

Being lonely and being alone are very different things.  Sometimes we can be the loneliest when we are with people.  Being alone may be the ticket to defeat loneliness.  Give yourself permission to be alone and to celebrate who you are. 

In our busy lives it isn’t an easy thing to do, but it will pay off.  I think we need to continue to explore ways to help our students escape their hectic worlds to be alone in thought also.  I hope you can find time to be alone – after all, allow yourself to spend time with someone awesome!

                 

                                                           Have a great week!

                                                                                    Mary                                    

02-15-2019

Mary’s Minute

“To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.”

                                                                   ~ J.K. Rowling

With Valentine’s Day this week, there are thoughts of love in the air – perhaps romantic, as well as a more general love that is all-encompassing.  We celebrate love for those around us, but we also think about those we have loved and are no longer with us. 

During this week where we celebrate love, I can’t help but think about the value of reflecting on the power of those who we have loved.  Some of us have lost family members who were especially close to us, which makes this especially relatable.  We know that although we are sad for the loss, we feel the protection that having loved and been loved gives us. 

I am particularly thinking of those we have passed away.  For me, I always think of my dad, who taught me so much about love.  He constantly taught through words and actions to, “Love one another.”  I know that because of him, I am a better person even though he is not on this earth.

I think we can also think of people who may still be living, but not with us – maybe former students or colleagues.  We are better because we have allowed ourselves to care deeply about people.  Being loved and loving others – in the past or present – leaves us as better people.  Love really is an awesome thing!

              

                                                                Have a great week!

                                                                                     Love,

                                                                                          Mary                                    

02-08-2019

Mary’s Minute

"If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily." 

                                                      ~ Gerald Good

I have been writing Mary’s Minute for a long time (over 16 years), and probably the concept I have written most about is gratitude.  And I am not going to stop, because I do believe that being grateful is one of the most important things we can do to live happy lives. 

This week in her blog (Zoshamarie.com or on Facebook @Choose Happy) my daughter, Zoe wrote about ways to stay happy even when we are busy.  One technique she suggested was to practice gratitude.  She explains that physically our brains cannot feel stress and gratitude at the same time.  I am going to practice testing this theory in my own life, and I challenge you to do the same.  We should strive to always practice gratitude (writing in a gratitude journal or just thinking about the things in life for which we are grateful), but it could be especially valuable when we are feeling stressed.  Imagine the possibilities! 

I also was thinking about the implications that this could have with our students.  We know our students are stressed, so what if we could find ways to replace their stress with gratitude?  Part of being stressed is seeing all the bad that we are facing.  Practicing gratitude allows us to replace the negatives with positives.  I know it sounds overly simple, but science says that it really works. 

It is a great practice to express gratitude to others because it is good for us and them, but the kind of gratitude that I am talking about now is filling our hearts and heads with simple self-talk that others may not even see to change our state of mind. 

Everyone has struggles and stress, but gratitude is a practice that can elevate the pain and disruption that stress can cause.  We all have things for which we are thankful.  I hope you can reflect on your list in order to help you live a happy life!

             

                                                                                  Gratefully yours,

                                                                                                    Mary