Light and Hope

. . . But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
                                                                                                          W. B. Yeats




Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.

                                                                           W.B. Yeats

Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.

                                                  W.B. Yeats

A little pitter patter, a welcome quiet, relatively calm, cool morning. 

I love mornings like these.  

Urgency subsides, freeing the brain and body to absorb and appreciate a different sort of noise----the welcome noise of nature instead of all that outside cacophony which tends to clutter our thinking.

It's the morning after a political convention where the usual literal noise seemed so distant. 

And, in my mind, that was a good thing.

I liked the convention because of its lack of noise and the usual carnival-like atmosphere of past years.  

The week-long event's simplicity aided its message---upbeat, filled with hope and constant reminders of the priceless intangibles which we hold dear here in America.

I especially liked Joe Biden's message last night of moving from darkness to light.

And, like so many, I loved the segment with the young man who stutters. 

One of the rich nuggets for me, involving this young man, was learning that Joe Biden had overcome his stutter by constantly reading aloud the poetry of Irish writer W.B. Yeats. 

Bill and I visited the grave of Yeats just last fall on our trip to Ireland.

So, of course, knowing that this great poet's words made all the difference for an American Presidential candidate in his youth made me sit up and take notice. 

It also reminded me that my sister-in-law had shared the story of Yeats with her grandson, using a small booklet I had given her after our trip.

Connections!

They often play with such importance and lead to such unpredictably wonderful outcomes throughout our lives---if we only allow them.

I am feeling a sense of hope this morning after watching last night's reminders of where we are in America and what we can be with positive leadership.

 I also feel determined not to let the abrasive, negative noise which dominates so much of every day get me down.

I told Bill this morning a story about when I was teaching at Sandpoint High School. 

We had a new principal, who had just been appointed as an interim.  None of us knew much about him when he took over the position. 

During his first week on the job, we had a pep assembly in the gym.  

In my mind, this was one of the most spirited, impressive pep assemblies I had ever seen at Sandpoint High School. 

Thrilled and exhilarated, I walked up to the new administrator and asked him what he thought.

It was disgusting, he said with an ugly frown, adding that we wouldn't be having anything like that again.

Talk about instant deflation!  

I walked away, stunned, knowing we were in for an interesting time with this unhappy guy. 

His negativity and disdain toward all but a small protective circle who supported him dominated each day.  

The atmosphere at our school diminished from bad to worse, even leading to a much publicized student AND teacher protest mid-year.

It was a time where every single day, chaos and puzzlement reigned as did building resentment among students and staff.

We felt like we were in a prison rather than a school, and, though I never had the experience, I compared our situation with being on a continuous LSD trip. 

Long story short, fortunately, this man eventually figuratively shot himself in the foot and disappeared from the school and the community just before graduation.

The person in charge can make all the difference---be it good or bad.  

Though I did not enjoy the situation at our school, I'm glad to have had this experience under my belt and to have seen firsthand that it did resolve itself. 

Knowing that the situation----be it long, depressing and uncomfortable----eventually turned out okay inspires the hope I'm feeling this morning.  

Our lives at Sandpoint High School did return to some sense of normality almost immediately after his departure.

Darkness turned to light. 

Granted, no leader is perfect as a human being, and no leader can satisfy everyone. 

When a leader inspires enthusiasm and hope, infinite possibilities bringing a return of positive energy can turn bad situations around.

I hope we see something similar in the months ahead in this country.  

Last night gave me that hope. 

Happy Friday.