As I commute to work, I enjoy listening to talks in my car. They give me food for thought, content to reflect upon and help to ease the challenges of sitting in traffic. Recently, a teacher was discussing the power of storytelling…specifically stories of kindness. When we share stories of the heart, we’re all lifted up a bit.

 I’ve had the pleasure and challenge of teaching students at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Each day brings new stories and opportunities to connect. In my first grade classroom, it’s become routine to notice and share about kindness around us. We keep a bowl of water on the table in the “Peace Corner”. Next to the bowl rests a container filled with small pebbles. Whenever a student wants to honor an act of kindness they whisper the story, gently drop a pebble into the bowl and watch the ripples as they move outward toward the edge of the glass. As we place our attention on kindness, we celebrate human connection and remind ourselves that what we say and do matters.

During the first few months of school, my grade level colleagues and I noticed an unpleasant trend that our collaboration time left us feeling exhausted, stressed and depleted. Our preference was to walk away from our time together feeling productive, supported and nourished. After some reflection, we realized that the stories we shared were mostly fostering negativity and frustration; each adding to the next with another layer of drama. Noticing the discrepancy between our intention and reality, we made the decision to practice grounding ourselves before each meeting. Now we sit quietly together for five to ten minutes, follow our breath and invite our minds to reconnect with our bodies. Sometimes we listen to a brief talk, relaxing music or sounds of nature as we sit. Once we’ve settled in, we begin our meeting. Astonishingly, or perhaps not that surprising at all, we’ve experienced feeling more calm, focused and clear minded. The complaints that once guided our time together have taken a rest and we’re able to communicate from a place of purpose, kindness and support.

In honor of storytelling and spreading joy, I leave you with a quote from a first grader during our gratitude practice last week…

“I’m grateful for my goldfish because they’re always happy to see me when I get home. They look at me and wag their tails.”