Touching lives squared

Farmhouse on the side of the road.

What makes you happy? What makes you feel like you are living the life that you really want to live while you are here? I think when you feel down it helps when you ask those questions. It really does make me happy when I know I have made others happy. I think that is why many of my relationships have failed, I found that there was nothing I could do to make them happy, so I knew it wasn't going to work ... because I wouldn't be happy. My latest relationship was great, but I realized that I would not be able to keep her happy in the future so I called it off. I am still looking for a woman that is happy because I make her happy, then she wants to make me happy. It should be a relationship that feeds off of itself, I know I will find it sometime!

Ione, California city hall

How many people's lives have I touched and improved? That question came up in my mind this afternoon. I am teaching in San Jose on the weekends this month and I was talking to a student that really wants to make a difference in the world. I had a student like that before and she is now in Uganda and working for a NGO, her blog is: http://dinkampala.blogspot.com/ ... I hope it is ok that I give that link. I thought about all the students that I have had over the years, the ones in Korea that I helped learn English and then they could improve their lives with better jobs, the kids I taught that helped them get further in school and in their lives, the adults I taught at the adult school that were able to improve their lives here in the States and were able to live better and their families that depended on them, but also the TESL students I have taught that have gone off and taught others in many different countries. If I have directly affected over 5000 students of my own, and then my students have directly affected over 1000 students, and I have had over 400 students in the past 5 years that have gone off and become teachers ... then that is 405,000 students that I have had something to do with improving their lives. I have made a difference in this world, and I am very pleased with myself. Sometimes I have to just realize that and be happy that I have made others happy. Tonight I will sleep with a big smile on my face because I have thought of this stuff. I hope that whatever reason you have for you being on the earth and what makes you happy you can think of directly and smile when you sleep! GOOD NIGHT!!