Learning From Those Who Have Touched Our Minds & Soul
Today I am going to speak to something that many people never have the chance to appreciate and that is the elementary school and really the community in which they grew up. This occurred to me because I was going through the Facebook groups and found the group for my elementary school, Douglas Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua, NY.
There were so many class photos shared including quite a few of me as the tiny person I was with a big ball of red curly hair on the top of my head — so very easy to be recognized even 50+ years later. I was even more amazed that those fellow classmates had my whole name written correctly — including “Zinck” because often people do find interesting ways to spell my name. I guess coming from Chappaqua, they checked it more than once to make sure it was spelled correctly given the high achievers many of them are.
However, the most important aspect of these posts were the memories of the excellent teachers and the opportunity to attend such a beautiful school — a school that was bright and airy in design. One that I have never seen replicated in any other place I have been — and I have been in many places through the decades.
You see, the environments from which we come do matter. I saw one person who posted the very sweet manner in which he was taught to read by his 1st-grade teacher, never making him feel poorly — always giving him positive reinforcement as he learned. I had a similar situation when I was in 1st grade with my wonderful 1st-grade teacher, Miss Holt, the only African-American teacher in the school among a sea of white folks — and she was the best! Apparently, she died in her home in her mid-nineties which was awesome to learn, with former students visiting her and bringing her cards and food just because they could.
You see, when we make our lives that of service to others, we never know the seeds we have sewed, till maybe decades later.
When we are of service to others, we never really know all the people that we are affecting in a positive manner — sometimes we get the feedback from a few folks — but we really never do know the total impact that we have had on others. But, I can tell you this: It is because I was raised in a beautiful area, with wonderful teachers throughout my education (including Mr. Huppuch who sometimes reads and upvotes my posts — who made sure I made it to my high school graduation and college beyond with all the tutoring hours I received from that man throughout my 4 years of high school) that I learned the importance of learning regardless of how challenging it can be. And, maybe in some sense, I learned, even more, the importance of sharing those pieces of information that I find most helpful for others to learn from.
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There are few things that are as life-affirming regardless of the crazy situation that we find ourselves living these days, then revisiting the past and better understanding the impact that it made on the person that I have become and knowing that I made a difference for some of the people that I have touched through the years.
Think about those things that you have learned from your young growing-up days — the people that have influenced you to become the person you have, because we all have them if we are willing to go back there and think a bit about it. It was those people that have helped to make you who you are — the more positive influences that you were lucky to have in your life.
And, as you move forward to always remember that the people with whom we surround ourselves do indeed matter, for they have more influence on us than we may understand at the time we are with them. Sometimes, it is only upon taking the time to look back that we can put these influencers in their correct place in both our hearts and minds.