Being Grateful for the Mud

The children at Woodland Park frequently go home with a plastic bag full of muddy clothing. The parents are often at loose ends over it the first time it happens, but soon learn to accept it. Some even learn to be grateful for it.

Tomorrow is the day we've set aside in the US for giving thanks. It goes without saying, of course, that every day is the right day for gratitude.

In times of anxiety or loss or despair, I often hear my mother's voice urging me to count my blessings. It's a habit I've cultivated throughout my life as a way to calm myself. This doesn't mean a diminishment or minimization pain or suffering, but it's way to shift my perspective on current troubles, allowing me to see things in context. As I count the blessings for which I'm grateful -- family, friends, community, health, opportunities, accomplishments -- I'm reminded of those aspects from which I draw the strength to move forward in the face of adversity. As we go around our Thanksgiving Day tables and share those things for which we are most thankful, we count our blessings together, a simple and powerful reminder that life is good.

One can argue, of course, that all of this gratitude is a kind of papering over, a brag; that as we sit around our overladen tables we are surrounded by a world of pain and suffering. Our blessing are real, as is that pain and suffering. At the recently concluded International Conference for Happiness and Well-being in Education hosted by TH School in Hanoi, keynoter Erin Threlfall, primary school principal at the Panyaden International School in Thailand, shared a quote from Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh: "There can be no lotus flower without the mud." The physical presence of TH School itself, seen from above, is a lotus flower. 

Light does not exist without the dark. Happiness does not exist without sadness. Gratitude cannot exist without suffering. "Most people are afraid of suffering," he wrote, "But suffering is a kind of mud to help the lotus flower of happiness grow." 

As we gather today in thanksgiving, let's not forget to also be grateful for the mud.

Happy Thanksgiving!

*****

I've been writing about play-based learning almost every day for the past 14 years. I've recently gone back through the 4000+ blog posts(!) I've written since 2009. Here are my 10 favorite in a nifty free download. Click here to get yours.

I put a lot of time and effort into this blog. If you'd like to support me please consider a small contribution to the cause. Thank you!