You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead (Stan Laurel)

Photo by Arnaud Mariat on Unsplash

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice - David M. Burns/ Wayne Dyer/Will Durant - various people have claimed this one!

There are many such quotes expressing this idea. One of my favourites, of course, is from Groucho Marx: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.

Here's another: Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude - Zig Ziglar

Another of my favourite quotes from Qui-Gon Jinn is even more succinct - your focus determines your reality.

So true.

Where there were deserts I saw fountains (Patti Smith)

Photo by Mario Calvo on Unsplash

First day back (for Term Two) and it's always like the holidays haven't happened, right!

Today has been a lovely blur of action - problem solving/ listening/ receiving questions/ emergency relief teaching/ supervising French listening tests/ investigations/ receiving questions/ phone calls/ conversations/ complaints/ emails/ receiving questions/ decisions/ meetings/ restorative conversations...

Like I said - as if the holidays haven't happened.

But that's as it should be because we should live in the moment as much as possible.

Groucho Marx's amazing quote again comes to mind:

I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.

Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share (Led Zeppelin)

Originally, this quote seems to have come from hunting but it's since morphed into all sorts of applications. 

In my situation it means that sometimes I have a great day and sometimes it's not so great. I particularly like the Yin Yang/ do or do not binary aspect on offer. Seemingly opposite, the two states are actually interconnected. There is no one without the other.

In my Al Ain days, my Arabic teachers had their own version - Yom asal, yom basal, which means ‘One day honey, one day onions’. 

Same basic principle applies - one day you're winning and one day you're scoring own goals.

I tend to use these expressions in hindsight. Rarely during a day, and never ever at the start of a day.

At the start of every day I expect to eat the bear!

As Groucho said:

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.