Slipping on the faculty room floor

Slipping on the faculty room floor
This morning I stepped into the faculty kitchen to put my lunch in the fridge. One step onto the tile and I slipped and went down; there was a puddle with water and coffee in it at the entrance to the room. I got up and cleaned up the mess.

If the person who made the mess had cleaned it up, I wouldn't have slipped. And because I cleaned it up, people after me wouldn't slip. Although our mere ideologies may prevent us from being the one to clean it up in either case, life is better for those who come after us when we take positive action now.

A bundle of sticks
A few days ago I had a conversation with one of our school's Chinese exchange students. He told me a story about a bundle of sticks:

A man had sons who always quarreled. Before dying, the man called the sons to his room and told them to bring a stick. When they got to his room, he instructed them to tie the sticks into a bundle. Each son then took a turn at trying to break the bundle. None could do it. He then instructed them to untie the bundle and break their sticks. The sons were able to easily break their individual sticks.

Eating less meat; being more compassionate; making ethical choices; educating ourselves; committing to actions; stretching ourselves and others; talking about climate change, pollution, poverty, hunger, and war. Actions to affect those things that matter to us are less likely to break us if we bundle up with others.

I'm growing in my willingness and ability to connect and work with people who value what I value. I'm excited for the start of the school year, another year to shift the compass needle. Thank you for reading.