Sunday, June 27, 2010

Happy Idiots

It's kind of funny the things that people remember. Everyone seems to take a different little piece out of the interactions that become life. As a teacher, I have a feeling that I've been a part of a number of these little situations and am regrettably unaware. There are interactions that I recall quite vividly, and there are a number that blur around the edges.

I'd like to share one of those more vivid recollections with you all:

When I was in college, I found myself moderately overwhelmed with the magnitude of the situations that I was in and the intensity of the interactions that I was experiencing. In short, I was a little stressed about my classes and my friends, and striking the perfect balance between them. At any rate, I remember talking to my dad about all of this while I was home during some break. He was working on something in the garage, and I was hanging out with him. This isn't something that I normally did, and I really don't know what sent me down to the garage that afternoon. But, he told me something that afternoon that has really stuck with me. He said that he's learned that there are always going to be things that you encounter in life that you can control. There are also going to be things that you encounter that you cannot control. He also said that he's a lot happier when he is able to distinguish between those things, and then control his response to the uncontrollable situations. So, when something is spinning out of control, you can do nothing but choose your reaction to that situation. And things are generally more pleasant when you choose to identify the good parts of each challenge and enjoy the ride.


My mom calls this the "Happy Idiot Syndrome," but I've found that it's brought me a lot of peace. Maybe it can help you find a little bit of peace, too.

And, if you have a specific interaction with me that has stuck with you, I'd love to know what it is!

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