An Explosion Outside of Heaven

R.O.I. is a financial acronym meaning "Return on Investment". It's a way to determine the value of what you've invested, usually in units of time and money.

As a parent or teacher you hope to be able to measure a R.O.I. in your children and students in units of their own greatness. We invest our hearts and minds and talents in the belief of their future greatness, measured in the amount they learn to see it in themselves.

How we define "greatness" has a large influence on how our children will define themselves.
I like how the musician Yanni speaks of greatness as defined by his father: "The best things in life are available to everyone. Like truth, imagination, creativity, love, kindness, compassion. So you see, greatness has nothing to do with success, or money, or possessions."

This morning when I walked in my classroom I received my ROI.

This is probably coming from the line, "10 days invested, in a child's self-esteem" from my poem "10 Days".

When you're a big giver, you risk running out. So it's nice when the love, compassion, belief, etc is given back. The more it's given the more it fills you up.

Since my children don't live with me it does hurt when they leave. A fact of life and nothing more.

"10 Days" ago I entered the gates of Heaven when they arrived. Yesterday these same gates closed as I watched them go. As I tried to write I struggled and at times felt pulled back into the depths of Hell.

So you can imagine how good I felt seeing two of them (Brosden and Bella) this morning in my classroom before school.

Now imagine leaving and coming back to see the suprise they had waiting for me.

Take that and mutliply it by 100, add 100 million, go around the world 100 times, and then beyond infinity 100 times more.

Now you're at the starting point for how I felt, knowing my investment of love and belief in them has grown into great love and belief among us.

And you'll also just begin to understand my conviction that, no matter how great the problem, how difficult the struggle, or how deep the pain, there is nothing, NOTHING, that cannot be overcome with LOVE and BELIEF, especially when children are involved.

It's not the size of the heart that matters most. A lot of good people have big hearts. What matters even more is the amount of love that can be exploded from it.

This morning there was an explosion outside of Heaven. My heart was swollen in the incident. And I think maybe I heard gates creaking open a little.

*Here Brosden and Bella are dancing to "Niki Nana" (We Are One)

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