September 15, 2009

In search of my morning ‘jolt’, I went into Shawnigan Village just after 6:00am today to get coffee at the local café and was greeted by the barista who asked, “So, I guess School has now begun?” I answered that, yes, the new school year was indeed under way. She then said something that I want to share with all of you because it was the best start to the day that I could have wished for. She said, “Shawnigan students are so polite and well-mannered – you should be proud of them.”

You see, people are noticing your attitude. Keep doing what you are doing as it’s working. This lady was adamant that Shawnigan students are different from the other schools that she has encountered when working in the area. Good manners cost nothing and they show a concern and an essential respect for other people. That’s our whole approach and attitude here.

Viktor Frankl, an Auschwitz concentration camp survivor, said that, “Attitude is the last of the human freedoms. It is the freedom to choose how you will deal with any given set of circumstances” When people in our community encounter our good manners, they feel what I would call our whole-hearted attitude. When I use “heart,” of course I mean warmth and love and pride (the good kind), and when I use “whole,” I mean to suggest integrity and a sense of completeness. A whole-hearted attitude is one that is genuine and sincere. This kind of attitude is engaging and encourages good relationships.

The School motto perfectly captures this whole-hearted attitude: palmam qui meruit ferat (let the one who has earned the reward bear it). Our Founder’s prayer, repeated often in our chapel, also extols the nature of whole-heartedness: “Oh Lord God, when Thou givest to Thy servant to endeavour in any great matter, grant us to know that it is not only the beginning, but the continuing of the same until it be thoroughly finished which yieldeth the true glory.”

This attitude is not simply working out what you need to get by, it is about giving more and being thorough. I found something on You Tube a few days ago that a parent had given me in a book – a short piece called, “212 degrees.” The essence of the idea is that at 211 degrees water is just very hot, but at 212 degrees it boils and it can produce steam to drive huge engines. That extra degree makes all the difference! So go for the 212 degree approach, make the extra effort in everything you do. Be yourselves, be genuine and always approach life with a whole-hearted attitude.