Stand By Me

Such beautiful lyrics...

How Full Is Your Bucket?

Costa Rican sunset. Photo courtesy of the Hoke family.

Dinner group in La Fortuna. Photo courtesy of the Hoke family.

The Infinity Pool! Photo courtesy of the Hoke family.

Awesome water slide at Baldi Arenal Hot Springs. Photo courtesy of the Hoke family.

Taking it all in... farewell night in San Jose, Costa Rica.

I had the pleasure of spending the evening with a Yup'ik friend of mine, Ossie from Pamyua. He shared many stories and thoughts on his views of the Alaska Native cultures and on the commonalities of the Inuits in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. I have found this to be a new fascination of mine... I am very curious about the people of these places and the ancestry that they might share. Anyhow, being able to have such great conversation about culture has inspired me to write.

I just returned from a ten day trip to Costa Rica... AMAZING!!! I truly had the time of my life. Antonia and I were blessed with a fantastic group of people, including our tour guide and driver. We zip lined through the jungle, woke to the sound of howler monkeys, danced to Calypso music, stayed at a 5 Star resort, ate wonderful food, and best of all... had many hearty laughs and made new, beautiful friendships. I learned so much about the Costa Rican culture and cannot wait to share it with my students. Also, it was so great to be among the many different travelers, all with a different story to tell. I fell in love! My heart was more than content... my bucket was overflowing!

As the summer's end is fast approaching, I am getting back into teaching mode and really looking forward to the upcoming school year. In preparation, I am reading a book called How Full is Your Bucket? The adult version is written by Tom Rath and Donald Clifton, and the one for kids is written by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer. The whole idea is that we each have a bucket and with every interaction we have with others, our bucket is either being filled or emptied. Along with that, with each interaction we are either filling or emptying someone else's bucket. The thought is that each time we talk to someone, we stop and think, "Am I taking from or giving to their bucket?" It is very simple, but it is such a beautiful philosophy of which I will be emphasizing in my classroom this year. Even if you are not a teacher, I would highly recommend both the book for adults and the one for children.

So, I challenge you to start thinking this way... are you helping to fill buckets or empty them?

Pura Vida,

Misty Dawn

Bananas and Fish. Phuket 2009.