Teachable Tuesday

One of my favorite quotes/stories is about a starfish. I love starfish and the first time I heard this story my pastor told it. It made me stand up and take notice and I have carried it in my heart ever since. You see, I was one of those starfish that someone found floundering on the beach...and threw back. There was a teacher who made a difference. For that I am grateful.

"Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.
The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

So, today ask yourself what kind of difference you can make in someone's life...and make it!

Filling My Bucket

I was visiting my friend Xazmin on her blog site and found a wonderful entry about bucket fillers. I just had to share it with you today because it left such a profound feeling with me. "Have any of you seen the phrase "the bucket filler" floating around blog land? I too have seen it here and there and wasn't quite sure what it was." I am glad I read This is the Year daily, along with several other posts, and I am always delighted by the wonderful humor, emotion, honesty, tales, recipes and many other posts and comments that I read each day. What I didn't realize was that each one of you has been filling my bucket on a daily basis!

The bucket filler was started by a blogger named Jan whose blog Xazmin just recently discovered and loves! Xazmin loves her....so I had to go and check her out myself. But that is how blog reading goes....you read it....talk about someone else's stuff...and your readers go and read it. But, that is beside the point...."the bucket fill revolves around the idea that we each have invisible buckets. Our buckets are filled when we have positive, uplifting interactions with people. By the things they say, or by their actions. When our buckets are full, we are happy.

We also all have invisible dippers. They can be used to fill the buckets of others, or to dip into and lessen the buckets of others. Unkindness and negetivity empty our buckets and diminish our happiness.

Perhaps many of us don't try to empty each others buckets, but at the same time maybe we find it uncomfortable to make the effort to fill the buckets of others. This tradition is an effort to overcome that difficulty and help us each receive the joy to be found both by having our buckets filled and by filling the buckets of others."


Xazmin did not toss the bucket to me but in her post....she did challenge me to be a much better person....and be more uplifting! "So, I too forthe entire month of May plan to do my best to fill your buckets! I don't know if there are any particular rules or protocols for this assignment, so I'll just roll with it! Each day I will share something that I hope will add a little more to each of your buckets. It may be a thought within my post, or it may be a post in itself. Either way I hope that each day you leave my blog feeling uplifted, and that your buckets are each a little fuller!


So for my very first "bucket filler", I'd like to share a quote from William James:

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."



I truly believe that my life does make a difference to everyone I come in contact with. My thought is...what kind of difference? Happy Saturday!

Teachable Tuesday Moments

I am going to try something new. I am going to dedicate Tuesdays for Teachable Moments. You know the kind of moments that stand out, make an impact, or just are profound. Today's Teachable Moment is a quote that a former student gave me when she graduated from Grad School with a degree in Education. I was very proud of her. I don't know who wrote this quote but it made an impact in my life.

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a CHILD!

When I chose to teach I knew I would never be rich in money....but I have always been rich in the fact that I touch students lives daily. I took the road less traveled and it has made a big difference.