The Gift of L.I.G.H.T

 Welcome back my friends to my month of giving! I always want to share whatever gifts I can with my fellow educators. I hope you enjoyed the first gift in my series L- Love. This week I am going to share two gifts with you that I think you'll enjoy, but also agree we as educators need. This week, let's focus on the I- Inspiration, and G- Grace. 

The second letter is I- inspiration or inspire. I personally feel somewhere in the dictionary that "inspire" is the first word that defines "teacher." A teacher's role is to inspire their students. Teachers also inspire other educators to keep going when they are having a rough time, and to keep learning.  The image that comes to mind is how quickly we reach out with our umbrella to share with others when they are in need. Let's do the same with inspiration! Teachers also inspire the world to love learning and continue to educate themselves, try new things, and to never give up. This week, let's take the time to inspire ourselves. Inspiration comes in many forms- so find what inspires you this week! Perhaps you wanted to turn that simple note into a blog. Maybe you wanted to clean your classroom (or home!) and change up a few things. Talk with other educators that have inspired you before, and soak it in! Like podcasts and webinars? Those work too! Sometimes taking a simple walk sparks inspiration for so many things... the possibilities are endless. Find something that inspires you this week, try to take a bit of time to do something that brings you inspiration and gets you energized. We all know we could use a refill! This is important personally and professionally. That one spark is sometimes all we need to continue to feel motivated and ready to work with our students. Even if we feel completely motivated, why not add a little more? If you're not sure where to get started, look for my inSpiration Sunday posts on social media and share that with a friend. We know the power of the ripple effect so lets touch the water gently and watch the magic spread! 

The next letter gift is G- Grace. Now this is easier said than done my friends. To tie in with inspiration, know that it's completely fine to not feel inspired right now as a teacher. There are many things that might intercept our inspiration (both personally and professionally,) this is where grace comes in. Teachers hand out grace to their students and others like those small candy canes that come in the box. Plenty to go around, quickly, easily, and without a thought. When it comes to ourselves, we are our own worst enemy. Our perfectionist nature blocks what we can honestly see in the mirror if we looked at the right angle, and please believe me, I am my own worst critic. I think we owe it to ourselves to find one moment, just one this week where we can pause, and place that small candy cane of grace on our own desk. Let it serve as a reminder that we do our work with passion and dedication, and the only way to improve is through our mistakes and learning experiences. You deserve this gift of grace, and so do other fellow educators. Let's start small with one moment in time this week to give grace, and let it start with grace for ourselves! 

Final Thoughts- Keep finding inspiration, it may be hidden in the smallest of places. Keep sharing what inspires you with others, even if one person is reached, it was worth it! Keep offering yourself the grace you've earned, and keep giving the grace to yourself when you don't always give yourself some... it's easier said than done. Keep in mind one small moment of grace is the candy cane you need this, and every season... so keep passing it out!

Whatever inspires you, unwrap it this week for yourself, and fill your cup with love... you've earned it teacher friends!