Open Yourself Up

"Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart."
--Myla Kabat-Zinn

I've been going through some tough things at work. There's been a lot of closed door meetings, questions hanging in the air about the future, but I've learnedthe power of being gracious. My manager tells me that when it comes to making decision (either at work or in life) I should see if I would look back on that choice proudly. She has faced a lot of backlash, but she has been such a source of inspiration for me. It is very rare to meet someone who will truly stand up for what they believe in not because of money or power, but because it's right.

I'm very fortunate to have had many mentors in my life. I recently received an e-mail from my English teacher and advisor from UP, John Orr. He wanted to know if I was still keeping my eyes and heart open. When I was at UP I had a tendency to overload myself - I was incapable of saying "no". At one point I found myself juggling 3 jobs, tutoring Spanish students, volunteering to coordinate a Hispanic Women Writer's conference, and participating in Eucharsitic Ministry (all while keeping a full semester's worth of classes). I remember storming into John's office because I had finally reached my wits end and I needed to tell somebody. I felt so alone because none of my friends came close to taking on as much as I had. And all John said was, "Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart."

I still take those words to heart today. So even while there is a lot of ambiguity and questions and tensions at work - I remind myself to keep my eyes and heart open.