Today, I had an unusual experience. One that I loved and that the people around me shrugged at. Afterward I realized a big truth behind both this blog and my life in general.

While it’s easy to fixate on the best, don’t let it distract you from the very good right in front of you.

Let me explain: the hardest moments I’ve had have been when I set my heart on one thing and refuse to accept something else. Not having the thing you want can drive you crazy. Appreciating the thing you have can bring you joy.

For instance, when I was overseas I knew lots of people who couldn’t tolerate not having what they wanted most. At the top of Gamuk glacier, in the midst of the Himalayas a troop of hikers was offered roti, rice, and yellow daal on aluminum trays by a small group of monks. Some were not going to have daal when they wanted meat. Others looked askance at the dirty/dripping plates. I ate it all and went back for more. Maybe I put my digestive track at risk, but that moment, savoring a fresh made meal, shared in gratitude with our hosts in the face of natural beauty, I was delighted.

I have a harder time accepting where I’m at in my work and actions. Many is the time a lesson goes awry or students cause a pointless, rude, ruckus, and I sit in sullen self-abnegation. I don’t want to be a bad teacher and every time things seem bad or less than ideal, I just want to scream: “I wanna be better!!” My colleagues and bosses tell me to appreciate what we do accomplish and appreciate my strengths before I get into “self-improvement” mode. I see why: wanting to be the best and refusing to appreciate my strengths when there are weaknesses to worry about has never helped me. But it’s hard to give it up.

Which leads me to today. With me standing in my last class, stressing over how students were identifying evidence and supporting thematic claims when the principal opened the door and announced an interruption.

In walked Luis Amarilla. The newest member of our Minnesota United. A tall, devestating striker from Paraguay by way of Universidad Catolica in Ecuador. I was amazed. My students, many who love soccer (and some of whom have parents with Universidad allegiances) shrugged. One young woman beamed, others used the distraction to whisper with each other at the end of the day.

I confess, I was a little disappointed: why would this group of soccer crazed kids collectively cower when a professional, an immensely talented one, came to say hi?

Then they told me: they don’t follow the local team, they only care about the best. They idolize Messi and Ronaldo. They obsessively hunt and trade for and buy the best players on video games. They ogle the signature shoes. Everything and everyone else is just noise.

It’s nice that they have lofty ambitions, but it’s sad that it blinds them to excellence in front of them. Señor Amarilla isn’t a legend of the game, he won’t win the ballon d’or or the UEFA Champions League this year. But he has a powerful engine, a killer instinct in front of goal, and the drive to share his gifts here and now.

I was delighted to introduce Señor Amarilla to students and shake his hand in welcome. I understand that, at first, you might prefer someone better known, or with more power to impress your friends. But, if you shrug off greatness around you, you let great opportunities to cheer and shout and savor special moments slide by.