Monday, May 6, 2013

Positive Perspectives and a Hot Water Heater

One of my Americorps buddies, Katelyn, posted a simple, yet profound Facebook status recently.
Her post: 
We see the world, not as it is, but as we are - or, as we are conditioned to see it.  When we open our mouths to describe what we see, we in effect describe ourselves.

Her words caught my eye for a couple reasons.  For one thing, Jeff and I have been talking quite a bit about the power of perspectives and attitudes lately.  Also, I have been reading a book titled, Beyond Religion, written by the Dalai Lama, which talks a lot about the importance of compassion and ways in which people can evaluate and adjust their perspectives to lead happier, more compassionate lives.  

This past month has been a month of readjustment and hard work, as a result of changing apartments and schools.  The extra demands on my schedule and energy level have made it easy to let my perspective and attitude slip from where I would have wanted them to be.  

Although I am incredibly thankful to be paired up with my new co-teacher, and am adjusting nicely to my new students and schedule, there were a few bumps that needed to be smoothed out along the way.

Bump #1) 
It's just plain difficult to end your current job on Wednesday, move apartments Wednesday night, and start your new job bright and early on Thursday morning.  I had help moving from some friends, which made it far easier than it could have been, but still.

Bump #2)
It is very disheartening to realize on Thursday morning that your water doesn't get hot.  Well, it gets hot, but only for about a second and half before becoming ice-cold again.  Hot, cold, hot, cold.  This makes showering very unappealing.  Practicing adaptability,  I heated up water in my teapot and took a bit of a bird bath on Thursday morning.  Felt a little off balance my first day at my new school.  

Bump #2.5) 
It is very frustrating when your landlord doesn't take your hot water problem seriously until a day and a half later.  Hence, I took another camping-style teapot shower on Friday morning.  Brr!

Bumps #3-9 To Be Continued...

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