Signs

Many of us are getting anxiety as we turn the page to August. While we love this profession deeply, it’s also human to feel daunted by the entirety of a school year. We know what it takes to do this work well. It takes a lot. It’s fun, beautiful, meaningful, and it’s hard. All of this can be true at the same time.

Many of us are looking for a sign. A sign that this year is going to be a great year. A signal that this year will be the year that we find more balance in our lives. Most of us simply want some indication that we can do great work and be well while doing it. I’ve spent so much time thinking about that last sentence that I wrote a book about it.

The thing about signs is not what they mean or don’t mean. It’s what the “wanting them to mean” tells us about what we want and need.

When I was trying to decide whether to stay in an elementary principal position, I remember looking for signs on my daily walks after work. I kept seeing cardinals. So many, in fact, that it felt like it had to be sign. Now, there are people who say that cardinals represent guidance from people who have passed away. I remember telling myself on these walks that my dad and mother-in-law were showing up to guide me. Whether they were or they weren’t, believing this was an indication of what I needed: love and support.

So, the thing you think is a sign, may or may not be. That’s not for me to say either way. But what I will say is that your belief in the sign alone is information. It’s information about what you hope will be true, what you need, or what you desire.

And in this crazy world, a world that tricks us into ignoring our glimmers, sparks, and dreams, maybe the belief in signs is our call home. A call to our purpose.

So, if you need a sign that you will be OK this school year. If you need a sign that you can do this again, that you are more than enough as an educator. If you need a sign that the behavior of others doesn’t define your worth or a sign that people are innately good just wounded and surviving, let this be it.

Let this be your sign. Let this be a little light through that dense, dark forest. Whatever good you are hoping and dreaming for this school year, this is your sign. Let it be so.

And then make it so. With every little move you make.