As you hustled to get out the door this morning, what were you wearing? What did you put on as you prepared to take on the day? I'm not talking about your shirt and tie or casual Friday clothes. Did you throw on a bib or an apron?
Everything I'm reading and listening to in the world of education is currently looking at the importance of relationships and I could not agree more. However, I continually talk to people in this profession who are seeing the building, developing, and growing of these critical relationships to often be a struggle and a challenge. Whether it be relationships with colleagues or relationships with parents and families, that journey can often be filled with fear, awkwardness, dysfunction, conflict, emptiness, and disappointment. Why?
We tend to live in a culture that says, "It's all about me." My family, my schedule, my interests, my accomplishments, my time, my money, etc." Yet, if we were to get honest, most of us would say that even after everything we've accomplished and all that we've consumed, there is still a part of us scratching our head asking, "Is this it? I still don't feel fulfilled." Or, "Why do I feel like I have to pretend that I'm more than I really am?" I heard a very wise person once say, "There are 3 levels of living: the survival level of living, the success level of living, and the significant level of living." I would bet the farm that most of us deeply crave to live at the significant level of living but rarely live at that level because it is so easy to confuse success for significance. We spend a lifetime trying to keep up with the Jones's, add on to the resume', impress and seek approval from the masses and even raise the most intelligent and gifted children on the planet. While there is nothing wrong with any of those pursuits, it seems possible to have all of those things and yet experience a sense of emptiness as well as relational chasms.
Maybe the "good life" is not about looking good, feeling good, or having the goods; maybe instead it's about doing good. Giving your life away to others. Significance does not come from status or salary, it comes from serving. We live in a bib- wearing culture that approaches daily life, experiences, and encounters with other people asking, "What's in it for me? How does this benefit me or my family? What will it cost and how much of my time will it require?" A culture that says, "I know what I like and what I prefer; this event or this experience should cater to my interests, tastes, and opinions." However, the apron- wearing individual says, "It's not about me; it's about others. How can I serve and encourage someone else?" They find joy in reaching out and meeting the needs of other people, sometimes sacrificing their own interests, agenda, and schedule to do so. These folks in aprons seem to love setting the table, inviting people to the table, feeding others, and making people feel a sincere sense of care.
Mother Teresa said, "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." What will your life contribute to that letter? You see, I believe that relationships are the key to education changing our world and impacting the lives of people. And the depth, health, and quality of those relationships we strive to build with colleagues, families and parents will largely depend on what we wear every day we walk out the front door and into our unique circle of influence that is like no other. What are you wearing? A bib or an apron?
Chad Caddell
Twitter:@laughwithchad
Everything I'm reading and listening to in the world of education is currently looking at the importance of relationships and I could not agree more. However, I continually talk to people in this profession who are seeing the building, developing, and growing of these critical relationships to often be a struggle and a challenge. Whether it be relationships with colleagues or relationships with parents and families, that journey can often be filled with fear, awkwardness, dysfunction, conflict, emptiness, and disappointment. Why?
We tend to live in a culture that says, "It's all about me." My family, my schedule, my interests, my accomplishments, my time, my money, etc." Yet, if we were to get honest, most of us would say that even after everything we've accomplished and all that we've consumed, there is still a part of us scratching our head asking, "Is this it? I still don't feel fulfilled." Or, "Why do I feel like I have to pretend that I'm more than I really am?" I heard a very wise person once say, "There are 3 levels of living: the survival level of living, the success level of living, and the significant level of living." I would bet the farm that most of us deeply crave to live at the significant level of living but rarely live at that level because it is so easy to confuse success for significance. We spend a lifetime trying to keep up with the Jones's, add on to the resume', impress and seek approval from the masses and even raise the most intelligent and gifted children on the planet. While there is nothing wrong with any of those pursuits, it seems possible to have all of those things and yet experience a sense of emptiness as well as relational chasms.
Maybe the "good life" is not about looking good, feeling good, or having the goods; maybe instead it's about doing good. Giving your life away to others. Significance does not come from status or salary, it comes from serving. We live in a bib- wearing culture that approaches daily life, experiences, and encounters with other people asking, "What's in it for me? How does this benefit me or my family? What will it cost and how much of my time will it require?" A culture that says, "I know what I like and what I prefer; this event or this experience should cater to my interests, tastes, and opinions." However, the apron- wearing individual says, "It's not about me; it's about others. How can I serve and encourage someone else?" They find joy in reaching out and meeting the needs of other people, sometimes sacrificing their own interests, agenda, and schedule to do so. These folks in aprons seem to love setting the table, inviting people to the table, feeding others, and making people feel a sincere sense of care.
Mother Teresa said, "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." What will your life contribute to that letter? You see, I believe that relationships are the key to education changing our world and impacting the lives of people. And the depth, health, and quality of those relationships we strive to build with colleagues, families and parents will largely depend on what we wear every day we walk out the front door and into our unique circle of influence that is like no other. What are you wearing? A bib or an apron?
Chad Caddell
Twitter:@laughwithchad