Friends, now is the time. Many of you participated in #MusicTeacherGratitude or focused on gratitude throughout this past week. Now is the time to keep that ball rolling. As someone who struggles with anxiety, my heart broke for my students struggling with school related anxiety the first several weeks of the year. And those were just the ones I knew about.
I’d been in the practice of writing down things I was grateful for but didn’t feel totally moved by the practice. Until, I learned a game changing component @rachelhollis this summer. Write down gratitudes SPECIFIC TO THAT DAY. Like, the little things. Find the gratitude in those. She elaborated the importance of this practice- if you recognize gratitude in your life, there is less for you to be anxious about. I KNEW this was the ticket to helping my students. But I also knew that I couldn’t throw this practice at them without first modeling to them how. So I started taking the last 5 minutes of rehearsal for us to come up with 10 things we’re grateful for in rehearsal that day. I forget some days. But the days I forget remind me of the importance of it. And we do it the next. I even off handedly mentioned we needed a theme song - and the next day a STUDENT MADE ONE FOR US. It’s amazing. So folks, I encourage you to consider adopting this practice into your life first and foremost and secondly, if you’re a choir director (or a leader of any people) bring it into your rehearsals. I think it could change your students’ lives, but it will definitely change yours. A couple reminders:
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Beth Philemon#ItsAllConnected Archives
August 2019
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