Celebrating Growth

Today was one of those celebration days. First thing this morning I discovered that I had posted the midterm exam instead of the study guide for my students. That means every student had the test! Many years ago that happened and it sent me so deep into the Pit of Illusion that it took weeks to climb out. Stress! Frustration! Vexation plagued me.

Writing an exam takes hours and usually those hours are spread over several days so you can review the questions and make sure the multiple choice detractors are close enough to the real answer that they aren't ridiculous and yet not so close that they could be construed as correct. It is a pains taking process--one of the few things I dislike about teaching and now I had only hours to write a new midterm if the testing center would even let me submit a new test this late.

Usually our tests have to be submitted days before the test, so when I found out what I had done I called the center and they very nicely acknowledged this as an emergency and said that if I could get a new test to them by the afternoon they would make sure it was ready for tomorrow. So I hurried to my office and spent four grueling hours writing a new exam.

The celebration? I managed to get through the entire morning and the four hours of writing without sinking into the Pit! Truth Tools work. Humor was a helpful Tool today and was especially beneficial when I finally turned in the exam and the woman at the testing center laughed when I explained what had happened and said, "That is so funny!" Instead of hitting her, I laughed with her!

So I am celebrating the growth that has come this last five years and the difference it has made in my life to Live in Truth. While I would rather have learned about that growth in another way, the Truth is I didn't and so I'm going to enjoy the fact that something very positive came out of my BIG mistake today.