Change is...

...valued

The older I get, the less I like change, especially when it's thrust upon me and I don't get a say in it. 

But, opening my heart and allowing my word "Mindful" help guide me is helping me accept and actually look forward to changes that will start Monday morning when I go back to work.

If you Google "ALISO CANYON GAS LEAK" you'll see that the city I live in, Porter Ranch, is suffering the affects of the largest natural gas leak in U.S. history. Not since the BP oil spill in 2010, has something been so environmentally damaging. In a nutshell, the leak is pouring out an estimated 50,000 kilograms of methane every hour and is now a quarter of all California's total methane emissions. The mercaptan that is mixed with the gas to make it detectable is causing the air to be filled with a sulfur, rotten egg odor. The leak was reported back in Oct. but I have been smelling the gas since summer. We live less than a 1/2 mile from the leak but our school, along with another neighborhood school, is literally right below the canyon where the wells are. The days leading up to Winter break were grim as parents were pulling their kids from school and relocating as nobody is certain of the long term health affects the cancer causing gas will have on us.

The Governor has declared a state of emergency and LAUSD, our school district, has been hard at work relocating our school as well as Porter Elementary. District workers gave up their winter vacation to ready both schools by building extra bungalows and moving furniture from our home schools to the new sites.

 Just think about it...Your child's school and all that is familiar to them...moved.

So many lives and comforts are being disrupted and morning routines will certainly be challenged. I've been spoiled the last 12 years by only having to drive 5 minutes to work with no traffic. Now? I'll be thrown in with the rest of the working commuters to try and make it to work on time.

But it's all about the kids at this point and I'm pretty sure my word quietly whispered to me before January 1st. I'm ready to face the changes that will undoubtedly be powerful and re-energize my day to be a better educator.

So what do butterflies and a gas leak have in common?

Change...

Socrates said it best:

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not fighting the old, but on building the new."

I'm plunging in...magnificent, spiritually, show up and be present change.

Happy Snapping!

xo

Kelly