Yucai No.4 Primary school Lena
After I’ve been teaching 13 years, I still remember how it was being a teacher just after I graduated with my master degree. Needless to say, at the beginning I was a little intimidated by what the future held. My salary was only about 2000 Yuan every month. When someone talked about their successful career. I would feel confused because my whole world were my primary kids. Then I asked myself, what do I want? Should I want a different life or a peaceful world with my kids? But one day I was consoled and filled with courage by something Martin Lurther King said: “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” It felt like I was taking a running leap onto a one-step staircase when I took my teaching job.
I began to appreciate the small things, like a warm cup of cocoa on a chilly day staying in my warm office or classroom, the teethless grins and pudgy-armed hugs of my primary pupils, I was giving up things, and yet I felt wealthier than I ever had. Sometimes the kids wrote to me when they were happy and they told me when they were hurting. They shared some secrets they didn’t even tell Mom and Dad. I wiped their tears or put my arms around them, held them tight, and told them how much I cared with my empathy and advice. When I gave up my desire for lofty possessions, the simple things in my life became loftier.
I’ve been teaching for more than 12 years now. Before I took that leap of faith, I didn’t know the blessings that would pour down on me, and what I have witnessed has been amazing.
The quality of my life has kept increasing. The most important thing is the wealth in my spirit, it has become an overflowing river. I am marvelously aware of how I’ve gone since that first day when I could only see the first step in that staircase.
With the ever-changing economic climate, there are days when I still feel a little uneasy. But when I realize that my hope and security do not lie in the stock market, the deed to my apartment, my savings account, or anything materialistic because it can rust or fade away. My faith will not waver. My faith and contentment cannot depend on what my bankroll looks like.
It was when I loosened my hold on material possessions that I realized I was rich. If you are approaching a staircase and you can only see the first step, I challenge you to take a deep breath, have some faith and leap. You may be surprised where you will land.
