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Simple Connections
Sometimes the simple connections we have can be some of the most affirming moments in our lives. It is important to recognize them, let them fill your heart, mind and soul when they happen, and then let them lead you to your future actions.
Each day this past week I have had several of these moments and while each one of the connections with other people might have lasted for only a few minutes of the 10,080 minutes of time we each receive in a week, they have affirmed me like no others.
These moments were not found in sacred places, were not based in deep leaning environments or work environments, and otherwise could have been simply overlooked and chronicled as just another brief episode of my life, but there was something a little more that connected these moments for me in such a powerful way.
Each of these moments were with people that I had previously worked with, supported in their careers, and built authentic relationships with, that I can now surely confirm have endured over time.
This week, I ran into two individuals who I had not seen or communicated with in close to five years, yet, when they saw me, I saw their eyes light up, their spirits rise, and hope fill their hearts. We spoke for several minutes and shared a few catch up stories and then they said the following in back-to-back respective statements, “You really made an impact on our lives”, and “I’d work for you in a heartbeat.” As I walked away from these two individuals, I felt tremendously affirmed. I thought to myself, “The work that we did with each other together was authentic, meaningful, lasting, and made a positive impact on others.” I thought about this all day!
A second moment occurred not in person, but through text messaging. One of my most loyal and dedicated colleagues who I have known in some capacity for over twenty years, but had not spoken to for over a year, simply texted me to connect. During that brief text exchange we talked about his retirement, my work, and what might lie ahead for me. His positive words of encouragement, belief in my skills and attributes, and hopes for my future success were also some of the most affirming statements that I have received about my nuanced skills working with people. Again, I thought to myself, “The work we did with each other together was authentic, meaningful, and made a positive impact on others.”
Each of you might have similar simple moments that pass us by like cars passing our houses at night, but sometimes, when you pay attention, you can hear and feel the life affirming messages that are embedded in these simple moments. Maybe the moment will come in a brief conversation with others, maybe through a text, or maybe you will be the one to provide the affirming message to others, which would be amazing! My point is, pay attention to these simple moments as they could be some of the most life affirming moments for you or others.
Dr. Rob Martinez is “Resiliency Guy”. His new book, “Recipes for Resilience, Nurturing Perseverance in Students and Educators” is published by the Dave Burgess Consulting Inc. and is available on @Amazon. Dr. Martinez is currently the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Antioch Unified School District in Northern California. He is available for professional development, keynoting, and is always happy to connect to discuss resilience development in education settings. You can find him on social media @ResiliencyGuy #RecipesForResilience
Don’t Dwell in Doubt When Your Tide is Out
Don’t dwell in doubt when your tide is out.
From time to time you might feel that your passion is depleted, your work is overlooked, or that you are not making a difference in the world of those you care for. Well, I’d like you to think of it this way. It might be that for the moment, your tide is out. It might be that when you took that moment to measure your success, your ability to make that difference, or to try and see the impacts of your work, you took at look at the shore deplete with water.
This is the time that you simply cannot dwell on the low tide. You must work to understand that this perspective is not the real result of your actions. This view is not the final judgement on your person, passion, or persistence. This view, albeit, real at the moment, is only part true. It probably true that you feel down, may be discouraged, and may be feeling yourself with doubt, but this is not all that the world has for you.
If you give yourself some time to actually take a measurement of your success, I hope you truly reflect on the impact you have made over time. I hope you can see that you didn’t learn everything you needed to know in one moment. I hope you understand that each and every day is part of your journey, part of your growth, part of your failures, and then your abilities to overcome and persevere. Your actual success, much like the tide, will ebb and flow. Will it sometimes look and fill low? Of course. Will the water return so that a real measurement of the bounty of water available over time? Yes.
It is true that for you and your success, you must seek to understand that your tide will rise. You must remember that as you take the time to expand your personal perspective, if you give yourself enough grace to see your worth and understand your growth, you will build on more information, and realize that you rise as well. You ebb and flow, as we all do, which is actually really cool when you think about it.
So, don’t dwell in doubt when your tide is out. Rather, give yourself time. Work to understand the ebb and flow of life. Remember to see your successes when the tide returns, when the water is fresher, and always, always remember that the tide will return.
Dr. Rob Martinez is “Resiliency Guy.” He focuses on empowering students with resilience, working with educators to find results for students through opportunities and access via resilience. He is completing his book, “Lead With Resilience” where he shares his #RecipeForResilience. He is an international speaker, author, and consultant. You can find him @ResiliencyGuy on @Facebook, @Twitter, @Instagram, and on @LinkedIn
Believe, Trust and Act!
Just some things on my mind:
As you #LeadWithResilience you must believe, trust and act. No matter where you are, or what you do, you lead someone. So, as you do that, remember to open your heart, mind, soul and act in a way that will make you proud! Work to quell fear in yourself, strive to release any anxiety that may be building up inside of you, and believe.
Believe in the goodness, hearts, minds and souls of those you love, in the latent resilience that resides in each of us.
Trust that you, and I, and that we, will persevere!
And then, Act. Act in a way that will make you proud of who you are, proud of who you were, proud of the role model you are to those you lead.
Yes, it’s an election eve, and many are worried about the outcomes of the process, and how those outcomes might impact each of us, and those we care about. Yet, we have years of evidence that the people who know us, love us, and they trust in the knowledge that we, love them. We should all try to rest easy in that power that comes from this knowledge.
As strong individuals we cannot be defeated by disagreements, politics, or by maintaining any anger, frustration or angsts inside of us, unless we want to defeat ourselves. Seriously, if we trust in each other and ourselves, while the journey might be perceived and felt as rough or difficult, we will and can preserve through the worst of outcomes!
We also carry a huge responsibility to those we lead. Be they students, family members, workers, citizens, customers, we must lead with our integrity, dignity, and towards a future we want for ourselves and for them.
So, #LeadWithResilience Lead with your heart, mind, soul and your own actions! Lead with the knowledge you have gained, with love in your heart, and towards a better future for us all.
Dr. Rob Martinez is a 34-year educator who focuses on the importance of leadership, resilience, and empowering our youth to become the future of our society. You can follow Dr. Rob as @ResiliencyGuy on @Twitter, @Instagram, @Facebook, and on Linkedin.
The Weights of the World
Every day as we move through this crazy world and especially during these crazy times, many of us struggle with carrying the weights of the world on our shoulders. Sometimes it feels as though we are shouldered with more and more and more, until it becomes unbearable, and unfortunately, when we keep these weights held high and stacked upon each other on our shoulders and back for far too long they begin to squash us into the ground with each step we take.
Sure, using weights to gain strength is important, but as many a trainer will tell you, if you workout with weights that are far too heavy for your abilities, at any given moment, you risk sustaining an injury that can cause great injury to you, and may sideline you for far too long, creating even more problems for you and pulling you away from successfully meeting your goals of service to others.
I believe that sometimes you need to put all of the weights down. You need to release them from your shoulders, take them off your back, release your arms and hands, and stretch a little to give yourself some flexibility. Then as you reconsider what you want to pick up and carrying, I suggest that you re-engage with the appropriate weights for your heart, body, mind and soul, then move forward.
Yes, this is hard, especially for those of us who feel massive responsibilities for the people we care for, teach, lead, and seek to serve. Yet, if we don’t do this, we run the risk of running ourselves deep into the ground, with the weights of the world falling on top of us, and then not being able to serve those we seek to serve. So, drop the weights!
As you realign the weights you will carry, consider grabbing onto these weighty things first, prior to continuing your journey forward. Always grab your dignity and integrity first. When you hold your dignity and integrity close to your heart, body, mind, and soul you engage, interact, communicate as the most authentic person you can be. In every conversation, engagement, interaction where you are keeping your dignity and integrity in hand you will also tend to treat anyone with whom you interact in a way that protects their dignity and allows them to hold ono their integrity. Mutual respect develops based on holding dignity and integrity in each conversation.
Next, be sure to ensure that you are carrying compassion, care, empathy and consistency with you at all times. It might seem obvious, yet, if we listen to anyone who reports on the political landscape of the day it seems that those who should hold compassion, care, empathy and consistency as compass points in their decisions, actions, and goals, are frequently lacking in these three essential components in building a healthy lifestyle.
When those in leadership roles are lacking in compassion, care, empathy and consistency, we find that they place more people at risk of harm, injury, trauma, and often make decisions that simply are short-sighted, fraught with peril, and prejudice. We find that they lack the application of a theory of equity, which in turn creates an inconsistent level of response to every situation. When we do not engage our minds with a theory of equity, we disallow our minds from considering that how we think, act, and we leave our minds with a presumption of correctness, even though faulty logic may be leading our thoughts.
Each of us, in our unique situations must then choose the next level of weights we take into our arms, place on our back and shoulders, and we must do so with thoughtful consciousness. Possibly you will carry, passion, justice, ethical practices, for your people or issues. Perhaps you will carry emotional healing for others, or safety and security for your family. In any case, as individuals we must individually select what else we will carry so that we can do the work that we want to focus on, and live the type of life we want to be proud of as we continue our journey.
There is no one way, one choice, and yes, some of us will follow our past practices, and grab onto too many idealistic expectations for ourselves, yet, if what you grab has truth embedded in it, then it is right for you, and no one should dissuade you from your choice.
Now, I will ask you to not pick up these particular weighty items as holding them will take a toll on you that is not worth the effort. Leave the weights of deceit, lies, anger, hatred, righteousness, prejudice, racism where they lay, and work to ensure that they are released from your heart, body, mind and soul whenever they seek to jump into your life’s work. Sometimes they are sneaky and try to work their way into your life as a defense mechanism or faulty intellectual argument, but you are stronger than that, and can see and feel these most heavy of weights tugging you to the ground.
Now, to be clear, I am not a certified personal trainer in any way, shape or manner, and yet, I have worked to serve others for a number of years, and truly believe that each of us must take the time to self-reflect, consider what weights of the world we are carrying with us, reengage with thoughtful consciousness regarding how we maneuver through our world deliberately with the most important issues in our hearts, bodies, minds, and souls.
If each of us did this, and if we expected our leaders across our systems to follow these simple practices of leading with resilience, I think that we would all be in a better, safer world.
Dr. Rob Martinez, AKA “Resiliency Guy,” is a 33-year educator, author, educational consultant, and is completing his next book with the working title, “Lead with Resilience – My Story, Your Story, Our Story.” You can follow and connect Dr. Rob on all the social medias as @ResiliencyGuy
#ResilienceLeads – Find #Peace through #Calm
These unprecedented times require each and every one of us to provide patience, grace, and support to each other, our educators, support providers in our schools, and especially for our children. Parents drawn into the teaching profession with limited guidance, flying from the highest peak with new wings. Teachers drawn into full-time parenting, while still asked to continue their teaching profession and care for the academic and emotional health of children that they cannot physically comfort and cannot be sure that they can even access their outreach. Other support employees asked to maintain the infrastructures of our systems, maintain connections to our children, all the while being told that they should be “at-home” and secure their personal health instead of being out in public.
These are times that are testing the hearts, minds, and souls of the strongest, and yet, knowing educators, school employees, parents, and especially students like I do, I know that with the commitment, passion, dedication, perseverance, determination, and resilience from all, we will strive through this adversity to success! We will rise to meet the needs of our students in the communities that now hold them in the palms of their hands, even though so many of them are disallowed from being able to leave their homes for even the shortest periods of time.
Our educators, our school boards, our parents, our students, our employees, and the list goes on…we all must continue to turn to each other, rather than on each other. We must strive to be part of the solution, and not add to the load that each other is carrying. Again, I say, patience and grace for all as we all traverse this new future that none of us could have predicted or planned for. Yes, give yourself a moment, and please give others more than that as we look to create what has never been created. I have faith in the ingenuity, creativeness and the innovation of our educators and parents. The human spirit that resides in each of us, and especially in our children, will shine through even in these darkest days.
Last night while on my evening walk my wife and I saw the picture below, looked at each other and smiled.
She, as a teacher, is busy with connecting to children all day, who are lost in a world that is unfamiliar to them and they need to see her reassuring smile, hear her voice, and feel her care even if only through the internet. She is working to calm the fears of her fellow teachers who have not yet become skilled-up with the new technologies, internet platforms and resources that are connected to through social medias, and that they all will need to access and use to connect to children. And, she is also working to calm the fears of parents who feel that they cannot provide for their own children, even with the thousands of resources that the internet, social media, educational institutions keep pushing out and asking them to use without any type of real training or manuals.
I have been working through the chaos of government regulation, local politics, state and federal confusion, as we try our collective best to launch a new space ship into uncharted territories with propellers and duct tape for spare parts. I have been working to try to calm the fears of educators who are seeking answers to yesterday’s questions, and feeling that we must return to some level of normalcy, even with nothing being normal in our realities. I am working to quell the anxieties of so many caring, compassionate people who are all looking for the “right” answers and yet the solutions will come the more calm we become.
Love, care, compassion, grace, more love, and belief that things will be all right, are some of the ingredients we need to be mixing together to support our children. Also, please remember, there is not one level of recipe, which is marvelous to remember in these days. In fact, while making cookies the other day my wife ran out of brown sugar, and yet, mixed a concoction of white sugar and a hint of molasses, and the cookies turned out great!
As you move through your challenges trust in the calm you can create. Trust in the beliefs of #resilience, #perseverance, our collective #future, as these are essential parts of the solutions that lay before us. Remember, wherever you are today, the success you have had, the goals you have achieved, were probably not because of any one week, month or even quarter of school in your life! It was because of the collective growth, over time, that you experienced, and the supports you received through it all! You are the compilation of experiences that you you have had, the skills you used to overcome, and the memories that you have held onto that inform your future.
Our children will succeed if we remain calm and committed to supporting them, so I choose #Peace through #CALM and I ask you to do the same! Please, join me with turning to others and offering support, rather than turning on others and adding to the load they are currently carrying!
Thanks to every educator I know, support employees who receive a very limited amount of the adoration, our parents, our students, and our communities for your commitment to the children of California and beyond. To all of our employees, our School Board Members, and each of you connected to my Mt. Diablo Unified School District, and others, I see you, I value you, and I appreciate the challenge you are facing as individuals, and the ones we are facing together.
Please let me know if there is anything else we can do to support you or your children as we work together to continue to provide educational opportunities for all of our students!
My best to you and your families through these trying times.
Dr. Robert A. Martinez, AKA @ResiliencyGuy
Dr. Martinez is now the Superintendent of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. He is a 33-year educator, author, and speaker on issues of #Resilience, #Culture, and #Education He reminds everyone to #ROAR4Kids “#Results through #Opportunities & #Access via #Resilience for kids!” He is continuing his book, #ResilienceLeads that will provide a glimpse into his story, help you think of your story, and focus on the stories of those you lead.
Ask Yourself, Who Am I?
We all tend to move so fast through our lives, both professional and personal, and often I see individuals lose sight of themselves due to the perceptions of others. On the professional side it could be those with whom we work, or those that we lead, and unfortunately, the perception is sometimes developed from those that disdain us for doing the things that are right on behalf of those we serve.
It is during these times that we must stop, and take pulse of ourselves. We must, stop, and reflect. We must stop, and ask ourselves, “Who we are?” It is an exercise that when done with frequency can help you to develop that internal strong perspective that can guide you through any challenges that may present themselves to you. Here’s my example of a quick reflective piece of writing that I actually penned over five years ago:
Who am I?
I believe that public education is a moral imperative that cannot be achieved without conscious, purposeful, thoughtful actions by many with focus on our children.
I believe that by striving to build relationships that are built on trust, accountability and care, we, as educators, can lead by demonstrating collaborative efforts, teamwork, and passion to provide the best for students.
I believe that through building and seeking to understanding perspectives and differences we further broaden our grasp of the issues and are better positioned to seek solutions to issues and concerns. When we seek to understand cultural competence, and the appreciate the unique differences in our children and their families, we are more emboldened to work on their behalf to provide access and equity so that they may grow and develop in peace.
I believe that that through hard work, we can bring about change that matters for children, their families, and the greater good within our communities.
I believe that through practices that share knowledge, teaching skills and targeted strategies, and through examination of our practices, without fear of losing ourselves in change we can build a broader, more sustainable foundation for all educators upon which to reach our goals, and support students in reaching theirs.
I believe that when wrongs are occurring in our systems, no matter who is committing the wrongs, they must be addressed. When we allow inappropriate actions to go unnoticed we are complicit in allowing these behaviors to become the norm, which can destroy the foundation we are trying to build.
I believe that we each own a responsibility to work on providing for our children, and that to use them as leverage to get our way is an action lacking in integrity.
I believe that when caring, compassionate adults purposefully work together, we can improve opportunities for all children. I believe that if we consistently work together then we are better able to provide educational environments that are engaging, positive, thoughtful, and supportive of children, their families, and our greater community.
When students are held to high standards, are supported to tap into their latent resiliency that is ever present, we, as educators, can say that we are creating educational environments where Transformational Resiliency occurs!
Settling is not an option!
Advancing mediocrity is not an option!
Acting in incompatible means to accomplish these goals is not an option!
First believe, then act, then believe again!
Summary:
Again, I wrote this over five years ago, and I like to think that no matter what comes, if I know who I am, and I work to align my actions, thought and deeds to this, I am on the right path. Sure, I make mistakes, and of course sometimes feel the pressure to see myself the way some naysayers might, yet, through practice, and resolve, I reflect one more time.
So, I ask you, one more time, “Who are you?”
Dr. Rob Martinez, AKA “Resiliency Guy” is the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District. He speaks on issues of #Resilience development, #innovation and changing school systems to focus on each child as a unique being. Follow him on @twitter and instagram as @ResiliencyGuy.
What’s Missing? Can We Solve the Problem of Gun Violence in Schools?
Heart, Soul, Mind and Body
What’s missing? A simple question, yet, one which I often feel we miss when we seek to solve problems of humanity. As a society we often seek to solve a problem from our personal or engrained perspective. In the case of gun violence on our campuses I feel this re-occurring to a great extent.
Think about it, when we align with a group, we tend to generalize and seek to apply similar logic to the problems we face:
If we are politicians, we seek to legislate, rule, and govern, yet, with fear that we will lose popularity with those who align with us if we go against our perspective of their will.
If we are religious, we seek to pray for and send thoughts to those in need, seek to change others to our way of thinking, and we hope for change, while we often do not seek to address the other prevailing issues of the day that need changing.
If we are educators, we seek to teach, support and guide, and yet we are corralled by the rules of the system, limited by resources, and told to do better. (Take up arms? REALLY?)
If we are first responders, we seek to protect, act,and ensure safety, at the risk of our own lives, and yet, we cannot be everywhere, protect everyone, and stop time to solve problems that have yet to occur.
I know I am generalizing on a grand scale, and thoughts and actions are not always aligned to certain ways by groups, and still, my point is, when we seek to solve a problem from our current perspective, we tend to come up with the same actions for many problems, rather than to build our perspective first, towards attacking the current problem in a multi-faceted manner.
In the case of our children, who engage in heinous acts, who are focused on the destruction of others, I ask again, “What’s missing?”
I think we all should be asking this question to help us understand the problem better, to identify what led them to this path, and what discover alternatives we might be able to provide that could have derailed their focus before they got there. I think this approach might help us to realize that there doesn’t exist just one answer, to the problem!
Unfortunately: The politician will never allow the masses to rid the world of guns!
Unfortunately: No matter how much we provide thoughts and prayers, while providing comfort to many, will not bring people back to life, nor heal all who may contemplating acting to harm others.
Unfortunately: We can’t jut lock everyone up who we believe has some type of mental illness! Quite frankly, a number of us would be put away!
Insanity: There is no appropriate way of arming teachers, having a security guard at the entrance to every school, or having a good kid, bad kid scanner that will buzz whenever someone is having negative thoughts, and simply put, turning schools into military zones would not protect everyone inside.
Many, smarter than I individuals, have said it, we must have a multi-faceted approach that seeks to support each person with finding balance within their heart, soul, mind, and body. We must then work towards appropriate, sensible, logical, parameters to ensure, as best we can, that if a person’s heart, soul, mind and body are not in balance, and if they are seeking to do damage to others, that we have safeguards in place to stop them, and that we have done everything we can do to protect others!
Some ideas:
Socio-Emotional Learning:
We must invest in a multi-pronged approach to provide services at all of our schools, through trained professionals, through our medical providers, and through our governmental agencies for individuals at all stages of their lives. With curriculum programs that focus on building positive and strong mental health development, we would then allow for our children to grow in peace, and to build their personal resilience skills, problem solving skills, and to develop an approach to life that is well-balanced. These types of services are needed throughout our lives. Thus, we should work to ensure that mental health services are provided through medical care providers to all, free of charge, and that everyone within our governmental agencies are trained in also providing levels of service that seek to guide, support, and assist with making healthy choices.
Hope, Inspiration and Goal Building:
There is a difference between providing mental health services to ensure that individuals are developing positive mental health strategies, and in building individuals who aspire to greatness, through a positive style of living, have internal hopes, dreams and goals, and who want to make our world better for themselves and others. Some might say that religion is the owner of this arena, yet, I would say that the ideas of supporting each person to hope, be inspired, and develop goals, can also be owned by individuals, our educational institutions, health organizations, and community and service-oriented groups. Yes, hope, inspiration and goal building can come from a variety of sources, and we must build opportunities for more positive to exist in our world than negative.
Legislation, Rules, and Governance:
If you are still with me, thanks! Here is the tricky part!
We must continue to build a new way of thinking that will create a tipping point in the mind of our legislators! It appears to me that mny of them have solidified their beliefs that there are simply far too many people who have bought guns in the past, or who will buy guns in the future, who back the NRA, so strongly, that they can never rise up against them!
This must change! As a society we own the responsibility of helping them to see there is a different possibility, a new paradigm, a different perspective. We must help them see that they do not need to continue to be beholden to the NRA. They do not need to sustain their misbeliefs that everyone feels the need to own a gun, and that somewhow, these weapons of mass destruction that were created to cause ultimate death and destruction to enemies on the battlefield of our government, must be allowed into the hands of an average citizen!
This must change! Real and complete background checks, limits on types of weapons, registration and review of licenses to continue to own weapons, safety training, and possibly even gun buy-back for destruction programs are some ideas. I am not fool hardy enough to believe that we can rid the world of guns, but for the love of God, we must have limitations that seek to protect the masses, rather than to protect the rights of some, that are not truly rights listed in our constitution!
Safety:
School facility funding is far too low, and practically nonexistent from the federal level, and simply doesn’t meet the needs of a society that needs to protect its most valuable resources, our children. When each district in each state is left to its own design to pay for design, development, construction, and safety of schools, there becomes another field of inequity for the children of our communities. If we truly believe that we must have consistent levels of security at each of our schools, such as: closed perimeters, access through a limited secure entry, guards on the outside of our schools monitoring the permiters, safety locks to protect those inside at any moment, school-wide communication systems that can be used by many at the drop of a hat, then we need an enormous infusion of dollars to accomplish this! It is far to easy to say, we need these things, and then to leave the responsibility to local authorities to fund these ideas, with no new resources. Dear legislator, put your money where your mouth is, and invest in all of our schools to ensure the safety of all of our children!
This issue hits home!
Far too often we see these horrific scenes play out on our televisions, and far too often, we see the aftermath, the arm chair quarterbacking, and the retreat to old ways of thinking to protect our perspectives.
What I call for is a new way of solution building. Ask, “What’s missing?” Take time to review, before jumping into a solution that is based in your current perspective, and seek new ideas, all ideas, to combat these types of heinous acts at all levels. Please, now is the time! If not, us, then who? If not now, then when? If not you, then who? We ll own this problem. Let’s work together to solve it!
Let’s take the lead of our children, who have had enough #NeverAgain
Let’s let the life our children live be the measure of our succes!
Dr. Rob Martinez is the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, and is well known as “ResiliencyGuy” Please follow in on @Twitter as @ResiliencyGuy or on his Facebook page.
#ACSAPowerfulTogether
#VOTESupeRob4VP
#ONEWISH
I wonder, if you had #OneWish what would it be?
I know, some of you might not believe in wishes. I mean the magic of Christmas is a couple of months behind us, and the lure of St. Paty’s day is still around the corner, and we are a few days from the hunt of Cupid’s bow, yet, each day, I believe that we can make our own magic. I also believe that magic has the power to initiate thoughts, dreams, inspiration, and that we must have personal wishes that lead to hope, more thought, ideas, and actions.
So, this morning, I ask you, what is your #onewish?
Here’s my #onewish: For each child to be provided an environment where they can grow in peace, be engaged, be supported, be empowered, allowed to innovate, create, and develop the #resilience skills to become the persons they choose to be, who in turn, will place the needs of those in their world above themselves.
Some might say, this type of pie in the sky wish is simply unattainable, yet, I state again, that I believe we must have wishes, which lead to hope, which leads to more thought, dreams, inspiration, ideas, action. Then, once we allow these wishes to percolate to cogitate in our brains, hearts, souls, and minds, the potential for a new way, system, paradigm and an improved world becomes closer!
I do hope that you never give on #wishing, that you plan for it, and that place some passion behind your wishes to empower yourself in your world. Please let me know what your #Onewish is and how you are trying to make it happen.
#ACSAPowerfulTogether #VOTESuperRob4VP #ACSABuildsLeaders
Dr. Rob Martinez is known as @ResiliencyGuy. He often speaks on issues of #resiliency development and is the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. He is currently running for the Vice President position for the Association of California School Administrators #ACSA
Do you see your shadow?
Did you see your shadow? Are you hiding in the shadows? Have you found your spotlight? Will you share your light with those around you?
Questions, questions, questions, all about ourselves.
Are you happy with your answers?
Often enough we move from moment to moment, day to day, etc., and we do not stop and consider what we have either accomplished during our moments and days, or if we are actually being successful. We might either be resting in our own shadow, comfortable and calm, or we might be dancing in the sunlight ready to move forward. For each person the choice to hide in the shadows or dance in the light is personal, yet, if we become too comfortable in one location we just may fail to gain the perspective from another view. Strive to see yourself and others from multiple perspectives.
Try to appreciate the coolness in the shadows, while also recognizing the warmth from standing in the light. Learn to move back and forth between the shadows and light, while allowing those around you to shine, and rest as needed. It’s knowing that the flexibility inherent in being a human adds to the greater mastery called life. Peace!
Dr. Rob Martinez often writes on issues of #Resilience and is becoming well known as @ResiliencyGuy on twitter!
#SEEKBEAUTY – My 2018 Theme
#SeekBeauty
As 2018 begins, and I mindfully reconcile the reality that this year I will turn 55 years old, I have tried to be more cognizant of the world around me, and the world that I assist in creating for others. Some might say, well, that’s maturity setting in, or others might simply say, finally. I like to think of it as continuing to grow, and my focus on seeking to recognize the importance that each of us has in the world and our impact on others.
Many of my friends and family members take time at the New Year to set resolutions, start some new habits, and or contemplate their place in the world, and their impacts on others, and I too have been thinking about what to focus on in this New Year., 2018
I landed on these two words that I hope will guide my this year: #SeekBeauty
#SeekBeauty in life, love, family, relationships, myself, friends, co-workers, colleagues, students, children, animals, land, air, water, food, fitness, learning, teaching, playing, being, all, #SeekBeauty
I know that #beauty is relative, and I do have many beautiful relatives, but that’s another story. What I mean by beauty in this case is to seek to understand the true, innate, beauty that is apparent in our world, that we frequently overlook, disregard, give little time to, and let slip away, when we should be appreciating it, caring and cultivating it, and bringing it into our hearts, minds and souls.
Life, love, family, relationships are the nourishment that we need to sustain our hearts, minds, souls, and yet, so many times we take for granted those that are in our lives, love us, are our family, and those whose relationships truly mean more to us than anything. There is beauty in each opportunity to grow these relationships that we must seek to appreciate. There is beauty in each conversation, touch, embrace, glance, and yet, we sometimes treat those we care the most about in the worst ways. I am seeking to see the beauty that is provided to me each day, and I hope you do the same. Notice, and appreciate each moment, and let others know you care, and see the beauty that is in them.
I am seeking to find the beauty that is in me. Yes, I might seem silly, and yet, the old question is accurate: “How can you love somebody, if you don’ love yourself?” In this case, I don’t mean in a narcissistic way, I mean to love yourself is to care for yourself. Care about what you eat, drink, do with your body. Are you moving, exercising, giving your body fresh air, water, nutrition that can help you? Are you providing your entire system with what it needs to sustain, to battle the vile parts of the world that seek to damage your body? Not one of us has the same system, so you have got to find what works for you, and then as the saying goes, #DoIt. Feed your mind, feed your heart, feed your soul.
Each of us spends time with co-workers, colleagues, clients, community, etc., and if we are wise and looking for it, there is beauty there as well. Again, this is not just a physical thing, it is in the way so many positive, good, caring people live and go about their lives. If you spend a few minutes watching the news you can quickly become filled with frustration, and disgust at many acts of a few, and yet, we frequently have hundreds of positive acts going on around us that we fail to notice by our community members. A door being opened, a friendly hello, a phone being answered, work being accomplished with service, a caring hand, a hug goodbye, are but a few of the moments that add to the beauty of the day. I challenge you, as I have challenged myself to see it, appreciate it, let it fill your heart with knowledge that people are beautiful!
Yes, the world that we live in is a beautiful place, and I also believe that it is up to us to create more beauty for our children, our students, our pets, those we care for, those who have lost the ability to see the beauty, though they still have sight. We must work to create beauty, be the best within us, and help each other #seekbeauty. I’m not sure if we will ever all get to this wonderful place that I am seeking to find, though I do believe that the journey would be a lot more pleasant if we all tried to create more beauty, and to find more beauty in each other.
Here’s hoping that you all #seekbeauty in yourself, others, and our world.
Dr. Robert A. Martinez is also known as @ResiliencyGuy He tweets, blogs, and seeks to share thoughts about the world, and our ability to empower each other with our actions, thoughts, and goals.
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