Lesson In Noli Nothis Permittere Te Terere

Yes. I know. It’s been ages since my last post, and I’m sure some of my loyal readers are probably thinking I’ve jumped off the end of the world. Well, I am happy to say I’ve done no such thing! Looking back, I guess I just needed a break.

Since you last heard from me, there have been a few changes in my life … a new roommate … lost the job that was stressing me out eight days a week … and truth be told, I was starting to let it all get me down. I had worked very hard to get where I was, and within a few weeks it all came crashing down before I could really enjoy my own success.

There have been a few times over the past several months that I wanted to write about all that crap – after all, it was all stuff I think we all have to deal with at some point… like dealing with co-workers and bosses who have their heads shoved so far up their butts that they can’t see the world around them … or being held accountable for other people’s mistakes and losing your job over them while they get promoted … these are just a few examples about how the word of the month for January, 2008 was: UNFAIR!

All this time … “Noli Nothis Permittere Te Terere” was burning in the back of my mind… not just the blog itself, but what that phrase means – Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down. However, every time I would sit down to write – all I could think about was how badly my life sucked and how unfair the world had become … and that didn’t fit in with the spirit of Noli Nothis Permittere Te Terere. So, I just decided to wait awhile until the time was right.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from an old student of mine who needed some advice. Truth be told, I don’t think I helped him all that much, but at least I was able to put his mind at ease a little bit. Thing is though – I think it did more for me than for him. It’s weird … I spent two years at that place … and in those two years, I did some amazing work. I helped more people than I could possibly remember. I don’t want to take too much credit for other people’s work, but – when you hear from a student that he got promoted at work because of what you taught him … or when you hear from a student that she is so happy that you taught her how to e-mail and IM with her grandchildren (who live in across an ocean) that she hasn’t seen or talked with in over five years …

I have a few such stories … but it’s hard to remember those types of things when the bad stuff happens – and all you seem to remember are the clients you tried to help with the same stuff over and over again but no matter how hard you tried, they refused to make themselves any better. All you remember was asking your boss to help out with a situation only to be yelled at because of something totally unrelated and inappropriate that had nothing to do with you in the first place.

How the heck are you supposed to not let that get you down? Sometimes, maybe you can – but other times, you can’t.

I’ve come to realize that sometimes you do need to let things get you down – at least a little bit. The important thing is that you find a way back up. When life gives you a lemon, make lemon-aid. That’s ok, but when the universe gives you a heaping, steaming pile of bull-shit … then what can you do? I think if you put it aside and work on it a little here and there, give it some time – and in the end, hopefully you’ll have some fertilizer to make the flowers grow.

For two years, worked hard to develop the classes I taught. I was there when the program was formed, and I was the only one still there when, because of funding issues, we had to cancel the program … and then a few months later, I’m not working there anymore … so that’s the end of the program, right? Well … maybe. But, I’m not ready to give it up yet. What’s stopping me from taking the original concept, making a few adaptations (such as changing it from in-class format to internet format) and then coming up with a new program, based on the old model, but new, different, and better? Well … nothing. In fact – that’s what I’ve been doing since I got that phone call. (It’s nowhere near completion, but you can check it out – http://www.virtuallypositive.com

And that is the spirit of Noli Nothis Permittere Te Terere!