Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Stretch


Frank and I moved to Denver in 1998. This country girl had never driven in that much traffic. At first I would not drive out of my suburb, but one day Frank called me to pick him up at the office because his car was being repaired. I panicked. I was so nervous. I had no choice but to drive in traffic. Not long after that I was driving all over the city. My confidence soared. I felt really good and proud of myself. Frank did me a favor by forcing me into a situation that made me stretch beyond my comfort zone. I entered a new phase of my life. It opened new doors. I started substitute teaching in five different districts. This gave me a very flexible life. Before I had always held a contract teaching position that tied me down. Now I was free to work when needed but also to travel with Frank and spend time with family.

We need to help other people stretch too. Every day that I teach, I have students who want my help. I want to help them, but I do not want to hinder them by not teaching them to think for themselves. I do not want to do things for them that they can do for themselves. I want to empower them and give them confidence that they are equipped to solve problems, write creatively, and understand literature. I don't want students to depend on me for the work that they can do themselves.

We need to believe in ourselves. We are capable of doing so much more than we think we can. "We have to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies," writes Roderick Thorp. We need to stretch and let others stretch too. We really can do it.

Love and Light,
Patty

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