"I Love My Life"

One of my students spoke in my workshop today, 'I love my life.' That statement brought tears to my eyes. It was such a lovely thing to hear from a young person. Today's workshop discussed about luck or happenstance in one's life and how that impacted a person's happiness. For two hours, the students shared in pairs and in big group about their experience regarding luck, and at the end everyone opened their heart and mind to disclosure the most intimate though to everyone. That was the reason why I loved running workshops.

Every time I finished running a workshop, my spirit was kindled, and I felt both refreshed and re-energized. I enjoyed every single minute in my workshop, from the beginning when I usually did a visualization exercise until the end when we shared our thought and emotion in one big circle. I would easily get goosebumps just from listening to my students' sharing, and sometimes I remained high for the rest of the day that people who didn't know me would suspect that I smoked weed or something.

I guessed it was not an usual thing for young people in this community and culture to experience an environment where they felt safe enough to share their emotions and perspectives without the fear of being judged, nor did they often had a chance to sit down and reflect deeply about their lives with others. As a result, they were often caught by surprised when they joined my workshop, and at the end always promised to come back for the next one if their schedules permitted.

My colleagues told me that I was fortunate to have students who came to me voluntarily. Because they were not forced to, they came with an open mind and an open heart. My heart leaped when I saw how relaxed and enlightened they became at the end of the two hours, especially during the mid-term time when they were so stressed out with studying and procrastination. Sometimes I wonder how long the impact would last, and how far could my spirit reach into their souls. Of course there were no way I could evaluate the effectiveness of my work beside receiving feedback here and there from my students. I just simply had to believe that what I was doing was bringing good changes to my students, their families, and consequently the local community where they resided. After all I am an INFP, how else could I function if I did not believe so :)


Lately I learned to focus on my achievements rather than on what I have not accomplished. Life started to become more beautiful because of that thinking habit. Instead of wishing something would or could happen, I smiled and congratulated myself on 'this project' or 'that workshop.' I guessed in a way I was practicing 'focusing on my strengths,' one of the skill that I was trying to motivate my students to integrate into their daily function. And now, at the end of a beautiful day, I am writing to remind myself how much I love my life.

July 29, 2010
Saigon, Vietnam