Thomas J. West Music

This quote came to me from a great Facebook Group called Positively Positive:

You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions. -- Adlin Sinclair

This is a concept that I have been exploring and have grown to accept as truth over the past six years. When we change our attitude and our thinking about any topic, some astounding synchronicities, opportunities, and "coincidences" result. Here's just one example from my experiences:

After spending a year serving as a long-term substitute teacher in one of the most highly-regarded band programs in the Northeast U.S., I found myself wanting a middle or high school band directing job that still valued excellence but had a little more flexibility. The program I worked for had a 30+ year tradition of competitive excellence, and the message I received from the staff was "Don't rock the boat - stay in the box." That experience made me want to teach somewhere that did not have an established tradition but had the potential to grow into something fantastic. So, my internal vision of the kind of job I wanted shifted as I began to search for a new job.

Most of the summer went by, a few interviews happened, but not luck. I kept that vision in mind and kept insisting as positively as I could that the third week of August would yield me my new job. Then, in the second week of August, a total stranger replied to a post I had made in the forums at Youth Education in the Arts. He had not been on the forum there in over a year, and he just happened to read my job search post. The night before, he had dinner with an old friend from his drum corps days who he hadn't seen in two years. That friend had literally just resigned from his high school band position. I submitted my papers, was called to set up an interview on Friday, drove to the school on Monday, and was offered the job on the third week of August.

The job turned out to be a perfect fit. I was exactly the kind of person the district needed in that position at the time, and the position ended up being exactly what I had kept in my focused attention all summer - a young program with room to shape it into something great.

Our attitude towards all subjects comes across in everything we do. There is always non-verbal communication going on, and when we approach things with a contructive mental approach, strange synchronicities and minor miracles are commonplace.

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