Do the next right thing.  Going into the unknown. Be with me.  No man is a failure who has friends.  The last couple of days we have relaxed watching movies.  We don’t have the chance to do this a lot during the year because of our schedules, but we try to make up for it during our breaks.  Like anything in life, if you watch and listen, you can always pick up something you can apply or learn from.  Whether it’s from a meeting,  professional development, a sermon, a book or even a movie, there are always words that bring something to mind that can change your trajectory and way of thinking.

This past semester was hard.  Hard, not only because of the work load – it’s always hard – but because I didn’t feel like I did the best I could do.  I can deal with a lack of perfection if I did my best and just didn’t have enough time or there were extenuating circumstances, but this past semester I know I didn’t do my best.  I have been whiney, complaining, self loathing, uncaring and it showed.  It’s not the way I wanted this year to go.  If it only affected me it wouldn’t be that big a deal but it affected my students, my student teacher and the people I work with.  It’s not who I should be.  I want my life to matter, I want the things I do to be life changing not only for me but for others.  This last semester felt anything but.

This of course lends itself to feeling sorry for myself, blaming others, curling up on the corner of my couch and hibernating with my laptop.  But this week, I went to the movies.  While a movie isn’t a religious experience by any means, it can be therapeutic and thought provoking.  So here are a few things I learned today and yesterday that I want to share.

Do the next right thing.  Seriously, it’s an animated movie, but Frozen 2 has some interesting things to think about.  I can’t do anything to change the past, but I can do the next right thing.  Sure, I didn’t give my all last semester, but I can start new when I go back in January.  I can stop complaining so much and be more positive.  I can find ways to fill my bucket in order to fill others.

Into the Unknown.  Yeah I know.  Every elementary aged girl is singing this song right now.  But it talks about something that adults need to think about too.  It’s about a fear of taking risks, of going out into the unknown.  It’s how we all try to ignore the tug, but it’s powerful, the “what if” I do this or that.  As I’m looking at some different options in my life, still figuring out what my place is in the world, I need to be less afraid of the unknown.

Be with me. In Star Wars, Rey keeps asking the force or Jedi to “be with me”.  She’s asking for help.  I don’t like asking for help.  I try to do everything on my own, although I’m not sure why.  Nothing great in this world can be accomplished on our own, it has to be done with others, another great message in the movie.  All it takes is a group of people willing to work together towards a common goal to make it happen.  It’s exhausting to have to ask people to help but I need to do a better job of that if I want to accomplish great things.

No man is a failure who has friends.  Yeah, I’ve used this one before but it’s true.  It’s not money or recognition or power that makes you a success, although that is what the world would make you think.  It is the power of friendship, a relationship where you think more of others than yourself, where you build trust and show vulnerability.   A great friend can help you do the next right thing, step with or support you as you go into the unknown or just be with you.

It’s not rocket science, it’s a reminder.  I timely reminder during this holiday season that we aren’t meant to function alone.  Even those of us who are introverts need to step out of our comfort zones and connect with others.  I am not locked into the past nor is my future relegated by what past generations have or have not done.  I can surround myself with others who feed me and yet also tell me truth, making me accountable for following through on my goals as I step into the unknown.

Today was a reminder of another story.  The story of the birth of a child with two very young parents, who did the next right thing, while totally stepping into the unknown.  All so we could have someone that we could ask to “be with us” as our Savior.  Oh yes, there is just so much we can learn from stories.