It's Time To Let Go!!

There is a lovely story in a book I used to read my students called Zen Shorts.

One of the stories are about two monks that are going for a walk and discussing life. At some point the monks come across some elderly ladies who are in need of crossing over a stream.

The monks being servant-leaders lend a helping hand to the ladies by hoisting them on their backs and carrying safely over the stream to the other side of dry land.

When the monks put the ladies back on the ground to their surprise not only do they receive no thanks for their efforts, but they are actually accosted for how bumpy their "ride" was over the stream!

The story picks up later that day, but the two monks are in two different mental states ...One monk is content and still enjoying each moment of the day.

The other monk is frustrated, angry even ... and cannot enjoy the beautiful day.

At some point the content monk turns to the frustrated monk and asks, "What's wrong?"

The frustrated monk shares how he is upset because the ladies they helped were so ungrateful. To that the content monk replied, "I put down my lady hours ago ... why are you still carrying yours?"

As educators we need to think of what matters most in order to increase student achievement, and let the rest go.