the Dalai Lama on happiness, loneliness, trust, fear, and…farts!

Happy Monday! This week I want to share a wonderful 8-minute video of an interview with the Dalai Lama.  He shares some powerful truths on living/teaching happy, and best of all, he throws in a little fart joke. 😀

To be perfectly honest, Ms. Nally has not been teachin’ completely happy this past week.  I’ve been feeling a lot of anxiety around large school assignments.  My fall semester at San Jose State comes to an end in two weeks and juggling the big final assignments of 3 different credential classes along with a 28-hour work week has taken a huge toll on my mental health.

I was diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder about 4 years ago, and though I don’t have perfect control over symptoms, I have found that sleep management, caffeine consumption and time spent in front of a screen plays a significant role in my mood stability.  This week involved a lot of late nights with my laptop and coffee.

Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love my job.  I love being silly with the kids, finding creative ways to facilitate their learning, and watching them grow in leaps and bounds.  I love how my coworkers are all support one another by sharing solutions, a listening ear, and good food.

Yet even in this amazing work environment, I still struggle financially and mentally.

I started this blog mostly to help myself from becoming too jaded as a bipolar special educator, but I do hope that other burned out educators will find it helpful to know that they aren’t alone.  To quote the Dalai Lama, “I am one of 7 billion human beings.  Mentally, emotionally, intellectually, we are all the same.”

Teach happy!

~ Miss Nally