An Attitude of Gratitude
I went to school a long time ago, like several decades ago, but some of the teachers are still memorable for very good reasons.
I guess we all had a Mr Grumpy who would come in, stomp around the classroom and toss the occasional well-aimed duster (remember those) at a student or the classroom fish bowl.
There was little Miss Timid, who was quite the opposite, and you had to strain to hear her. She blushed frequently, but she was interesting and taught us well.
Then there was bouncy Mr Kafoops. This guy was in a league of his own. He was bright, chirpy, and engaging. He was also patient and helpful. He willingly answered all of my dumb questions without making me feel like I was completely incompetent. One day, someone asked him where he got all his enthusiasm from.
“Simple" was his reply. “I come with an attitude of gratitude. Every morning when I come onto the premises, I am just very grateful to be here.”
To our immature minds, it seemed such a harebrained thing to say. Of course, we never thought of it quite like that. Whenever I went to school, the aim was to survive and not get detention.
Years later, in 2026, I understand what he meant and why his classes were always fruitful and anticipated. Going into any encounter with an attitude of gratitude makes an enormous amount of difference. It doesn’t matter whether your encounter is with The Divine, your significant other, a stranger or a tedious meeting. If we meet others and ourselves with a healthy attitude of gratitude for just being there and being open to what might happen, everyone learns, and everyone enjoys. Mr Kafoop’s attitude of gratitude was one of his finest lessons.