Happy Friday, All!
Whether you say it with me or not, it’s going DOWN!! So, TGIF! Make it a good one!!
Through my last years in the States before retiring abroad, I noticed that as long as I kept a positive attitude things would go well. There was a pattern that I observed when challenges or obstacles would appear from nowhere! If I kept a positive attitude with peace, love and respect in my approach to things, a positive result would be “created”. Sometimes, I would be pleasantly surprised by the manner in which “The Universe” would unfold and provide me with the things I needed! Sometimes, it was like magic!!
Since I have been living here in Puerto Viejo, I have experienced the “pros and cons” of being an “outsider” though I look like I am from here, so I have been told!! A few nights ago … it was the full moon … I was at a gathering of friends and a guy approached me and had nothing but kind things to say. Now we had spoken before and I am closer with his lady friend, but he caught me off guard in a most uplifting way!! He complimented me on my kindness and genuine effort to meet and interact with “good people” here as well as telling me what a gentleman I have been with both he and his girlfriend. Shortly after that, another young gent approached me and asked me where I was from. I told him and he said that his father was from the Bronx, NY and lives here now. They are looking to do some filming and video shooting … So he kind of repeated what my other friend, “Paolo” had said: “You look like you are from here but when you speak and the manner in which you carry yourself, it’s clear that you are not from here! I like the way you represent yourself …” I smiled and thanked him and we exchanged numbers for only “The Universe” knows why!!
A friend and former colleague at a college I taught for in Ft. Lauderdale – City College – had some nice things to say to me on social media. I was happily surprised as well! She had worked in admissions before the school shut down for various reasons. She had mentioned recently on social media that she had just gotten a new position in admissions for another university in Florida. In her response to my well wishes in obtaining her new position, she said something like this: “Thanks, John! You have always inspired me and were a role model for me in working with and motivating the students!” My jaw dropped as I pushed one tear back … “Wow!”, I thought to myself. “What a compliment!”
So, just remember this … “When they go low, we go high!” – Michelle Obama
Connect with your true self!!
Peace,
John I. Cook
Educational Excellence 