Friday, March 25, 2011

The Power In Us All

With every action and with every spoken word and with every blog post/comment and with every Goodreads review and and with every tweet and with every Facebook status:

You have the power to hurt or heal.
You have the power to fix or fumble.
You have the power to advocate or attack.
You have the power to discourage or encourage.
You have the power to deliver or to deny.

What will you do with that kind of power?


(This hangs in my classroom. It was given to me by my principal and inspires me daily in all aspects of my life.)

And hey! Today is the last day to ask a question (for my trip to NYC) on Theresa's blog.

And I was interviewed as part of the Cornucopia of Dystopia on Jenny's Supernatural Snark blog today. (You wanna go over there. I may or may not be wearing a special T-shirt...)

AND today is the last day to post about your greatest POSSESSION on the Facebook fanpage. Winner announced later today.

Whew!

42 comments:

Melissa said...

Did you know you're only a hundred followers away from 2 grand?! That's crazy awesome.

I love this post. We don't realize how much power we have sometimes.

Stina said...

Wow, didn't realize I had that much power. I'm going to share it with my kids. :D

Miriam Forster said...

I love this.

We could all stand to remember that our actions have weight and meaning, and sometimes an effect we could never have imagined.

Thanks for the thought!

kah said...

Very inspirational words, and so so true. Thanks for the reminder. I'm curious to see this special t-shirt *raises eyebrows*

Aurora Smith said...

IM drunk wtih power right now!

Katie O'Sullivan said...

Love those words - great reminder!

Christine Danek said...

Can't believe I have that much power. I think I need to print this out and post it. I need this reminder.
Have a great weekend. You're such a rock star!

Wendy Paine Miller said...

Cheers to this.

Our words, even the ones we might think are insignificant matter.

~ Wendy

Natalie Aguirre said...

Great things to remember for all of our lives. And I agree Phew!

Bish Denham said...

Wise and beautiful words. They can all be compressed into one word...compassion.

Donna K. Weaver said...

Love the power words, and I love that they're in your classroom. Children (and adults to a lesser degree) can feel so powerless. I'm glad you teach them that they do have power AND that there are different kinds of power.

B.E. Sanderson said...

I wish more people realized the kind of power they have and that they should use their power for good. It's an awesome thing to hang in your classroom and I hope it makes a difference. =o)

Unknown said...

What a great reminder. People really do have a lot of power in their words and actions. Thanks for sharing this.

erica m. chapman said...

Oh, what a great reminder. Awesome! Thanks for sharing ;o) Have a great weekend!

Jonathon Arntson said...

I love that poster for several reasons. First and foremost, when read it is the first time some people realize they actually have power within them. Also, it is the perfect example of how words have power. The words on the list are powerful enough, but in order to do those things, good or bad, you need to know how to articulate. Lastly, the words give its readers an agenda. When they leave your classroom, the first person they see will most likely be encouraged, and then pay-it-forward goes in to effect.

I am so finding one of those posters and adding it to my Classroom Hope Chest.

Lydia Sharp said...

You are amazing, lady. Don't let anyone tell you any different.

Ishta Mercurio said...

I love, love, love this. I might print it and put it on my wall, but I think it might be better if I just put it on a card in my wallet so I have it everywhere. Or maybe I will do both.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Those are five VERY powerful lines. And important reminders for our students! :-)

Carolyn V. said...

I have that power huh? I should've known.

Michelle Merrill said...

Wow, that's profound! I need that hanging in my house. It's always great to have a reminder of how much power each of us really has.

Anonymous said...

I love that!! Thanks for sharing. Have a great day, Elana!

Chris Phillips said...

As my homeboy Prince Adam used to say back in the 80's, "I have the Power!" Then his sword would get struck by lightning and he'd turn into He-Man!

Christine Fonseca said...

I just love this! Thank YOU for the inspiration today.

Sara B. Larson said...

So SO true. Not just through social media, but in all aspects of our lives. Thanks for making me stop and think. :)

Donea Lee said...

Very inspiring words. Thank you. I hope to be the person who mostly heals, fixes, advocates, encourages and delivers. I try... :)

Joanna St. James said...

This is great especially in our schools.

ali cross said...

Those are a lot of last chances! Makes me feel all nervous and stuff.

And that list, the list of our power, is, well, powerful. Thanks for sharing that Elana.

I hope I use my power ~ the power of my words, my association, my service ~ for the good of others. I'll certainly be more aware of that today.

Lydia Kang said...

I love those affirmations. What a great thing to have up in a classroom!

Marsha Sigman said...

Love that list.

I want to only use my power for good.

Heather said...

That is a fantastic list! I love that you hung it in your classroom!

Anonymous said...

Great list! So true.

Julie Musil said...

I love those words about power. Amazing. It's a great lesson for kids, and a great reminder for us!

Stacy Henrie said...

Love this! Thanks for the reminder that it applies to more than just face to face encounters, but everywhere.

Jemi Fraser said...

Love that poster! I think I'm going to make myself one for my class too!

Jeff King said...

Amen sister.

Krispy said...

Great things to keep in mind.

erica and christy said...

Those of us in ABNA got our Vine Reviews on Tuesday. It would be nice if everyone followed these simple rules. Thanks for the post.
erica

Emy Shin said...

Those are all so true. Everything you say or do affect others -- whether you mean them to or not.

Vicki Rocho said...

Of course I don't ever want to hurt someone with my words, but if I think about the power behind them too long, I'll never get anything done!

Anonymous said...

That's an awesome poster. We all have the power to help or hurt others, intentionally or accidentally.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to hang that up in my house. I try very hard to be mindful of my words and actions. Sometimes, that's not easily done and sometimes I fumble a lot more than I fix. But I'll always keep trying.

Gail said...

What a fabulous paragraph of wisdom! I wish my principal had given that to me when I was teaching. I'm going to send it to him to pass on to his next faculty! It's going up next to my computer as well. And I'll have to share it with others I know. Go you!!!

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