School Bus Lessons For Life
As a child, I remember riding the school bus to Sunrise Elementary School. Relatively on time, rain or shine, the bus would meander up the road and lumber to our stop alongside the road. After the screeching sound of the brakes subsided and the cloud of incomplete combustion cleared, the caution lights would signal the opening doors. The kids at the stop would scurry to the entrance as if your place in line mattered – or perhaps it was just to get out of the rain. While certainly not Mt. Rainier, climbing the steps into the bus seemed like an early morning ascent – although in retrospect it was likely no more than 4 or 5 steps. After being greeted with a smile from the driver, I would turn the corner and bounce down the row like any kindergartner excited for the day ahead.
School is one thing… the school bus, quite another!
If you are anything like me, you have some days that don’t follow the normal script. Like standing just a little too close to the mud puddle at the side of the road and getting doused by the passing car as you wait for the bus. Slipping on the wet steps as you climb onto the bus only to see your ‘Dukes of Hazard’ lunchbox fly out of your hand and explode up the steps in slow motion. Being tripped by that unnamed villain and fall flat on your face as you walked down the center aisle. Sitting in the row with the constant drip of water from the forward window that wouldn’t stay closed. Finding the seat with the metal coil pushing through the cushion. Realizing your permission slip for the class field trip was still on the table at home.
Those are the kind of memories that make you shake your head just a little – and perhaps turn the corners of your mouth a little higher – maybe even garner a small laugh. If only those memories could be captured in a still photo.
Oddly fond memories. What are they for you?
Whether you had similar bus misadventures or other childhood challenges, sometimes we forget those little speedbumps in life and the lessons learned from them. It isn’t necessarily what you anticipated for the day, but how you dealt with it that can have a lasting impact. At times, the events of the day or that season of life deviates from what we would consider to be the ideal and certainly not hoped for. Does that trigger a desire to just call it a day, wave the white flag, and plan a different approach for tomorrow? Or do you just roll with it? Just like these childhood bus events, it’s not what happens to you, but how you respond that matters greatly. It reflects your character.
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”
-~C. Swindall
Perhaps it broadens your perception of the possibilities creating a better appreciation of expectation matching and understanding the unanticipated adversity of life? Regardless, it is how we respond that makes all the difference. It is not to create a crutch, but to learn from it and move forward in life.
While the school bus metaphor has been used in many different ways to describe much regarding direction and leadership, I still find the simple things that I learned on those often-rainy adventures more than 4 decades ago applicable on a near-daily basis:
1) Getting on the right bus matters greatly
2) Never push at the front of the line or you might get soaked
3) The steps always seem bigger until you start climbing
4) A smile helps make turning the corner just a bit easier
5) Finding the right seat on the bus makes all the difference
6) A positive attitude changes the day for everyone
7) Whether you are coming or going, know which stop is yours
8) Watch your step
9) Embrace the adventure in every day
Take a moment to reflect. Perhaps it was a school bus, maybe it was a long walk along a common trail, perhaps it was sitting in the car line… regardless, what lessons did you learn? And how can you apply them today?
I look forward to hearing from you. Also, if you haven’t checked out my book, Standing Naked in the Rain, it’ll certainly warm your heart and remind you of the things in life that matter most.