Back to school with a beginner's mind

Today, I head back to school after having the summer off. While classes don't start for two days, meetings start today. I have new student orientation, a college wide meeting, and our first faculty meeting of the year. Jekyll ate my hearing about 10 days after graduation in the spring and I've spent the whole summer dealing with my hearing loss and consequences of it: pressure, increased tinnitus, fatigue, headaches, and the emotional roller coaster of grief that comes with losing my hearing at age 50.  

In meditation, there is a concept called "beginners mind." For me, this means that one should approach each experience as if it is a new experience and as if I have no preconceived ideas of what it should be like. I try to approach things with a sense of curiosity and openness instead of resistance. I will try to use this today. What will the new student orientation be like for me? Will I be able to hear students and speakers? What about the college wide meeting? What will that be like? As for my faculty meeting, about half my colleagues know but others do not and I plan to tell them in the faculty meeting? What will their response be like? What will telling them feel like? Today, it will be important to stay with the feelings and be present. This evening, I have a political fundraiser, the first event of this nature that I will attend following my hearing loss. I know the setting so I have some sense of the acoustics in the room. Again, I will try to approach it with "beginner's mind" and not a sense of anxiety. I am a bit concerned about managing my energy level, especially since I woke up with a headache, but I have identified times during my day when I can take a break and have some quiet time, something that has become critical for me in responding to this in a sane and healthy way.