I landed at Hartsfield-Jackson International a couple of years ago and checked into the Airbnb where I was staying.
This was my first time in Atlanta, Georgia.
My wife and son could not come with me, and I was sad about that.
My son would have been running around the little apartment, jumping on the bed, and pressing his face up to the windows. My wife would have sat with me, coffee in hand, and talked with me about this, that, and the other.
I could have used a little family love right then as I was nervously rushing around trying to get everything ready for the TESOL conference.
But the experience did force me to do something that ended up being healthy.
I had to force myself to take some time and just do nothing.
Being alone gave me the chance to reflect, to think about life and what I was doing with it. I took a long look in the mirror and tried to remember all of the years that had brought me to that moment and I tried to imagine all of the years that would take me from it.
That, I suppose, is something we all need to do from time to time.
We need to remind ourselves of why we do what we do, and who we are doing it for, because it’s easy to lose track.
It’s easy to forget what kind of life we are trying to forge out of the busyness of it all.
Maybe you can take a few moments to do a little nothing yourself.
A few moments to reflect, to think, to remember all of the years that have brought you to where you are and all of the years that will take you from there.
And if you are a teacher, a few moments to make sure you got yourself pointed in the right direction before entering that classroom again, before you face all of the competing needs and conflicting goals.
We will find our way through.
In the immortal words of Winnie the Pooh, “Doing nothing often leads to the very best something.”
