I had an extraordinary and tiring day, but it is a tiredness born out of satisfaction. I received many gifts today and over the next little while it offers me much grist for the mill as a creative space emerges and words flow from it.
When I arrived in my room, I found two small gifts. One is a token with the word Courage engraved on it. The other a short passage by Wayne Arnason called Take Courage, Friends. As I strive to live in community and share with other people I need to recognize community, unlike teams, brings both sorrow and success in many forms.
The way is often hard, the path is never clear,
And the stakes are very high.
Take courage.
For deep down, there is another truth:
You are not alone.
About ivonprefontaine
In keeping with bell hooks and Noam Chomsky, I consider myself a public and dissident intellectual. Part of my work is to move beyond (transcend) institutional dogmas that bind me to defend freedom, raising my voice to be heard on behalf of those who seek equity and justice in all their forms.
I completed my PhD in Philosophy of Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA. My dissertation and research was how teachers experience becoming teachers and their role as leaders.
I focus on leading, communicating, and innovating in organizations. This includes mindfuful servant-leadership, World Cafe events, Appreciative Inquiry, and expressing one's self through creativity. I offer retreats, workshops, and presentations that can be tailored to your organzations specific needs.
I published peer reviewed articles about schools as learning organizations, currere as an ethical pursuit, and hope as an essential element of adult eductaion. I published three poems and am currently preparing my poetry to publish as an anthology of poetry.
I present on mindful leadership, servant leadership, schools as learning organizations, how teachers experience becoming teachers, assessement, and critical thinking. I facilitate mindfulness, hospitality retreats. and World Cafe Events using Appreciative Inquiry.
I am writing and researching about various forms of leadership, how teachers inform and form their identity as a particular teacher, schools as learning organizations, hope, nonviolence and its anticipatory relationship with the future, as essential elements to teaching and learning.
Academic publications can be found at Ivon Gile Prefontaine on ResearchGate
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 
I’m looking forward to reading more of your thoughts on this experience…
I will try to share a bit over the next few days and then when I get home.
I’m empathetic to your struggle with community, Ivon. I always had inner demons scratching away at me when I have been to retreats and have had to sleep in a dorm with snorers, noisy people, or those who just want to endlessly chatter while all I want to do is dwell on the words of the speaker. I’d love it if you would talk more about this aspect!
It is so wonderful in this environment. The retreats are organized in ways that slow the pace, allow for silence, and the conversation occurs one person at a time. One of the rules is be present as the other person speaks. It has such a Zen feel to it.
We are never alone. We are a community. Right here. I love that I can write about a topic and know that I’m not the only one that feels what I feel. I do like the feeling of being alone with my thoughts and my writing though. Because when the words start to flow, I lose track of everything and everyone. Sometimes it’s nice to just disappear in them.
I have found the same thing over the last few months. There is a space here that is genuine and we only need to pause for a moment to find others who genuinely share parts of our stories.
I completely agree. Isn’t it great?
It is so great.
What a wonderful message!
I found it quite inspiring when I got in and relieved some of the fatigue of the long trip.
I’ve nominated you for BlogAthon Award ! It would be an honor if you choose to accept it.
http://cristimoise.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/blogathon-award/
Thank you Cristi. I will take a few minutes today or tomorrow and post it.
You inspire me, my friend!
Thank you.