What is your school community's shared story?

When we make a commitment to build community, we create "we" stories. We honor and value each other's courage and vulnerability and we share our skills and strengths in service to the greater good.

We share leadership. We reclaim our power to help ourselves. We do not wait for permission. When we see a human need, we fill it.

We prioritize the community's good over individual ego.

We emphasize connection. We share food, laughter, tears, and dreams.

We plan for the future and implement now!

We practice gratitude and forgiveness.

We know we are servant leaders.

We know our community is defined by how we care for the young, old, poor, disabled, and those who are very sad and disconnected.

We take responsibility and apologize when we make mistakes.

"The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of every day, for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do." – Henry Moore

Commitment

Love and Commitment have always been my 2 highest core values. When I make a commitment, it is a promise that originated in love. When I see a need, I fill it, or I find other resources that can do the job better than I can.

Throughout my now almost 50 years in professional service to education, I have made countless commitments. My commitments often seem to be involuntary. I don't think, I automatically say yes. Sometimes that has been problematic.

I find that more often, my service to schools, teachers, students, and parents is part of my identity. My commitments make me part of any organization I am serving.

My commitments are relationships built on empathy, compassion, and trust.

I love my work. I love those I serve. Together we build a structure for students and staff to thrive, learn, and be healthy. My commitments are my identity. They are how I get acquainted with those I serve. My commitments make my pulse beat. They make my eyes shine and they make my face glow.

My commitments coincide with my sense of purpose. They are why I am here. They give me, and my life, a sense of meaning. My commitments have brought me freedom from fear, addictions, depression, and narcissism. My commitments have built my character. 

My commitments have helped me answer the essential question: "What is life asking of me?"

So, reflect on your life. What have you loved doing? What has uplifted your heart and soul? What has called to you? 

Commit your life to those answers.

Possibilities...

Many of us are fortunate to know we are blessed to feel appreciation, and gratitude for the simple pleasures of life. To feel the wonder in a flower in bloom. To feel the awe in a crimson and pink sunset. To feel the ecstasy of holding the hand of someone you have loved for over 43 years.

I am so grateful to wake up and think of possibilities. Each morning I let go of the past and think of the wonderful, infinite possibilities that are waiting for me. I focus on my dreams and my goals.

I live my life with gratitude and appreciation. I live in a comfortable home. I have a warm shower. I have a warm bed to sleep in and a variety of foods to nourish me.

I can calm my mind, release my stress, and open myself to new possibilities.

The Family of Love...

We are all here for a short time, twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, one hundred years. We are here to love and be loved. We are here to learn and relearn that we are all children of unconditional love.

We are here to help our sisters and brothers remember who they are. We are here to remember we are all members of one beloved family. 

We are here to break down walls and build bridges. Walls are built on fear. Bridges are built on unity. In our unity, we are all here for just a little while to remember to love and be loved.

We are all members of the family of love.

A Prayer for Humanity

Dear God,

I continue to feel your unconditional love permeating my heart and mind. I see your love and acceptance in every diverse face. We are all loved, no exceptions.

In this unconditionally loving universe, everyone is welcomed. Everyone is accepted. Everyone is valued. Everyone is loved.

No one is excluded.

May we all share this love with open hearts and minds.

May we all be sisters and brothers in loving humanity.