Everyday so far this year in my teaching classroom I have been so reminded of one very important truth: I have no clue what hard is. Hard is not hard. And this principle has slowly set me free. The trials I have gone through in life are slim to none. I have absolutely nothing to complain about. In fact, I don't think I've actually ever experienced "hard." Perhaps I've experienced surface level hard a few times in my life. LIke the kind of hard where you feel badly for a few weeks and then life becomes more tolerable. Not life-threatening. Not sustaining. My students know hard. They feel hard. Many of them could shake the hand of hard with their eyes closed. 

I don't have to talk about grit this year-because they have it. They've been practicing grit for years. They practice grit every day they come into the classroom and listen to a language that is not their first. They practice grit when they ask politely for a backpack because they don't have one. They practice grit waking up and self-advocating when they need to go down for breakfast. They know hard is hard. Their humble nature has replaced that hardness. Their multiplication of love is simply felt when walking through the door. 

We might practice replacing the phrase "this is hard" with "this hard is not hard." Because too often I stroll around the world hearing "this is hard" from people who should be saying "hard is not hard." And isn't it fascinating that the individuals who should be screaming at the top of their lungs "This is hard!" never do? Because they don't find the need to go about flaunting their hardness. Their real challenges. So humble they are, that they don't even notice the challenge. To them, hard isn't really a word and they have faith they will get through their day. Because hard is not really hard. For them-hard is when the multiplication of their spirit ceases to spread elsewhere. And those people are living embodiments of whimsy.