From The Innkeepers

Lessons from the School of Life-September 2020 Blog

As we turn the page of the virtual calendar to Covid19 month number 7, I began to reflect upon Septembers past. As a child I loved September. A new school year meant a shopping trip for a new pencil box, lunch box and “school bag” (our version of the student backpack), new shoes and clothes. Although for us being conscripted to Catholic school it meant a trip to the “uniform” store- a local Jackson department store that had a section that carried everything a good Catholic child needed to face a new school year. Well almost everything. Too bad it didn’t include some armor to fend off some of the nuns. Oh, but I digress. On to more serious matters….

The main question I pose to myself this month is this:

“For all of my years of education both in and outside of school, for all of my 71 years of life experience, what is it that I have come to know?” I wrote these down in no particular order, it is the product of their random appearance in my head.

-If we wake up in the morning and are still here, it is an opportunity to be grateful for the chance to live better today than yesterday.

-The light and heart of your energy expands the more you use it to make connections that improve the life of others.

-Our role in dark times is not to be overwhelmed by the multitude of things that need fixing in our culture, but rather to make better that which is within our reach.

-Sometimes people come and go in our lives, but always they cross our paths for a reason. There are lessons to be learned from everyone we encounter.

-Everyone deserves to love and be loved. The absence of love is the worst kind of emptiness.

-A person’s life journey is often circuitous, like a labyrinth. Eventually by putting one foot in front of the other you arrive at the center of your being, and your purpose becomes clearer.

-Nature is a great teacher. The more time we spend in nature the more whole we become.

-Kindness is a calling, and on most days, I take that mission very seriously. Being at the Inn has taught me that hospitality is one of the highest forms of kindness.

-Our night sky, unobstructed by city lights, teaches me that living in the shadow of another’s brightness can obscure who we truly are. I bless the night skies that encourages the light of our lives to be seen.

-Human beings were meant to live in peace with one another, but sometimes greed, pride, and entitlement get in our way. This is part of the tragedy of human existence. Loving kindness for all beings is how we were meant to live on this earth.

-Gratitude is the cornerstone of a meaningful life. Say thank you as often as possible.

-To live with the sense that right now is the best time of one’s life, lets the past fall away and the future to take care of itself without worrying about it. To be grateful for the gift of now, is
a key to happiness.

Of course, there are many more lessons because 71 years is a long time to attend the School of Life. But this is a monthly blog, so for whatever reason, these surfaced in my consciousness this month. I hope they at least in part resonate with you and strike a note of familiarity within your own life experience. But the more important take away is the awareness that everyday can be full of lessons. Our job is to turn the pages with eagerness and openness.

Blessings to you,
Marcia