The movie Schindler’s List captivated me. The fact that he saved so many people from death in WWII, and the manner in which he did it moved me to tears. In one of the last scenes in the movie in which Israel is honoring him and the descendants of those he saved speak to him, he responds by saying, …”I could have done more.”
A few years ago I ran into a former student. In the third grade she was an extraordinary student. She did her homework, excelled in class and behaved. How could any teacher not love this child? She came up to me and hugged me saying, “My third grade year (when I taught her) was wonderful. In fact I look at those years in elementary school and realize they were the best years of my life.”
Naturally I was pleased with what she said and happy she loved our school environment. But I also thought…I could have done even more.
Actually, there was not a whole lot more I could have done. We didn’t have much technology back then. I made little money so I really couldn’t have spent any more than I did. And I was young and had not traveled much at all. Thus the information or knowledge I passed on to the students came out of the books, our primary source.
But like Schindler I think most of us look back on what we have done and while pleased when we hear something complimentary about our contributions in the past, we usually feel…I could have done more.
My solution: from this day forward I shall do all I can in any given situation so that I can rest comfortably and say…I did my best.
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