Life's GPS

Today I'm still thinking about that student who called me his map. On a follow-up conversation Friday morning, he said that I was his GPS. His Gruener Positioning System. Isn't that so sweet? When he realized his name also starts with a G, he said it should really be called a G2PS.

What he doesn't know is that on Friday, shortly after that fun conversation, I was having a little full-blown meltdown over something that today seems really insignificant and small. And you know why? 

Because I was letting some trivial small stuff overwhelm me and

overshadow the awesomeness 

that should have been looming larger than life, 

like the fact that The Giving Tree at our Book Fair

was picked clean so that our friends who might not

have gotten a new book this time around did,

the fact that to keep up with our bigger class sizes this year,

 three ukuleles that were donated to our Lab on Friday

just in time for Social Stations to start on Monday,

and the fact that our upcoming SOCKtober collection will allow us to celebrate our riches by helping warm up the homeless.

These things matter so much more than that pesky tough stuff.

How quickly we can descend from the mountaintop into the valley

 and how difficult it can be to get back up.

But get back up we must.

And I have an idea how my student's G2PS idea can help.

What if G2PS stood for a Gratitude & Goodness Positioning System, if in the tough times we were grateful for the good things.

Intentionally.

On purpose.

With resolve.

What if we took a page out of the Scott Hamilton book of life

and embraced challenges as opportunities to get up and grow?

Just recently diagnosed with his third brain tumor, 

he's choosing to focus on celebrating life,

and he's grateful to have been 

"blessed beyond my wildest imagination."

Or a page from the book of our favorite ventriloquist Dennis Lee.

He had a horrible car collision this past spring that left his left side broken from head to toe. He still uses crutches to get from pillar to post.

But it didn't break his spirit. 

As he gets up and continues his trek around the globe, 

his motivational message doesn't focus on asking why?, 

but instead, why not? 

Why not try? 

Why not use tragedy to triumph? 

Why not find the blessings in the burden?

So vulnerable.

So inspiring.

So real.

On the mountaintop.

And in the valley. 

Gratitude and goodness.

In all things.

How much better could life be if we would all get back up

and forge forward into our new normal fueled by 

 hearts full of overwhelming gratitude and goodness.

Talk about your road map to success ...