What makes up a miracle? Sometimes it is the the things we take for granted as indicated in this beautiful quote from Thich Nhat Hanh. This morning, I wondered what I might miss in anything I do.I concluded it was the things I most likely took for granted. Those are irreplaceable.
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 and its anticipatory relationship with the future, and hope as an essential element in learning.13 responses »
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ivonprefontaine
There are so many miracles that we take for granted … life, eye sight, health…
So many things that we just don’t consider. The list is probably infinite.
Very thought-provoking post, Ivon. Thank you. I think what we most often seem to fail to recognize as true miracles are the smaller things in life. For example, that single blade of bright green grass poking its head through a mound of snow; the sound of birds singing away on a cold, gloomy day; the smell of the air after a fresh rainfall… To me, things like that are miracles that we as humans have been taking for granted more and more as we give our lives away to the monotony of constant work and very little real play. I could go on about this; it’s something I think about a lot. I won’t. I will just say thank you for a great post, and have a great day and a great weekend ahead. 🙂
Thanks so much for reblogging my post! I’m glad it spoke to you and others as well. For as much chaos that can seem to exist in the world at times, I find that there is an even more abundance of healing in things like nature, art, and good company. These have the power to calm, heal and bring peace, but the key is in being present to them.
You are welcome. I am always moved when I read Thich Nhat Hanh. He has such a simple yet profound way of expressing things.
I just read a post about one woman’s first experience of a shower. She is handicapped and after many years of baths only she experienced her first shower. It’s amazing Ivon, even how the purposed to be aware of each moment, such as myself and you and many others…still miss so many beautiful daily things.
That is an amazing story and underscores the importance of being more fully aware of our world.
Thank you for the reminder. – It helps, indeed, to remember the value of what we actually have. 🙂
It does.
Beautiful.
It is truly beautiful.
Thank you Ivon for this post, and also for pointing us in the direction of its source
You are welcome Valerie.