Monthly Archives: May 2013

Thresholds

Posted on May 24, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

When change comes, it is hard to recognize it as opportunity. I know change is a fixture along with death and taxes. I know that, but it does not always make it easier. It takes trust in others who journey with me. Their eyes see what mine do not. Sometimes I want to jump hastily, at the wrong time. I hit a closed door, not yet opened Other times, I linger and the door swings shut. This time, I know it is right. I ready to embark and cross this new threshold. This is a point of entry, one of many. Be mindful as you cross this one and many others.

I feel a weight gone and creativity surging back to the fore.

I stand transfixed,

Not knowing what I see

It is unfamiliar

Troubled–

I see no adventure.

I feel your hand,

A gentle touch on my shoulder

It guides me forward,

My heart opens and listens–

A gentle voice softly speaks:

“Fear not.”

Urged on,

Invited in,

Welcome there,

I cross a new threshold

I am not alone;

You are with me.

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Your happiness doesn’t depend on anyone or anything… It’s up to you. And there is something you can do about it!

Posted on May 24, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

This is a great quote from Helen Keller. It is the uncommon common sense approach to life I find missing in over planned bureaucratic and technocratic settings. We need to be patient and see with new, fresh eyes. What did I miss? The more we try control the less we control.

PORTABLE LIFE SKILLS DAILY WISDOM GUIDE

When you look deeply into the nature of this thing called life and begin to understand what life is and the way the mind works, you will come to realize that in fact your happiness does not depend on any outside circumstances, events or people. This is the core realization. This is the heart of this understanding. When things begin to fall apart and then you begin to see what’s really going on, you will discover that the happiness you seek is an internal event, an internal experience. And that this internal experience has nothing to do with all the things you were programmed to believe your happiness depended on! And this is why I say this is the good news… because it means you’re free! You are free! Your happiness doesn’t depend on anyone or anything… It’s up to you. And there is something you can do about it!

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A MASTERS MESSAGE FOR TODAY

Posted on May 23, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

This is a beautiful quote to begin the day. In a world consumed by materialism, we need less activism, change for the sake of change, busyness, and intolerance. We need to see each other as human beings and not human doings.

Soul Writings

Do As One

Shared by “Chantal”

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Marriage

Posted on May 22, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

I don’t do this very often; probably not often enough. This poem is for Kathy. It is our anniversary and, in some ways, we are an unlikely couple. I tell people it is me who has to endure her idiosyncrasies and meandering along life’s path. In truth, she was the perfect soul mate for me with patience galore while she waits for me to grow up.

A couple of weeks ago Renard Moreau Presents presented this wonderful poem and I knew I would use it today. Kahlil Gibran wrote Marriage. It is self-explanatory. There are so many remarkable lines and words that say what I cannot.

Then Almitra spoke again and said, ‘And what of Marriage, master?’

And he answered saying:

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

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Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged Anniversary, creativity, Khalil Gibran, Marriage, Mindful Practice, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Thomas Merton and the Celtic Rhythm of Heartbeat

Posted on May 22, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

Thomas Merton is one of my favourite authors. He had a wonderfully unique and refreshing view of the world. His story was one of almost constant transformation and caring for the others. His work and thinking has influenced many over the years. His poetry is somewhat like Mary Oliver in that he sees what I do not always and reveals it for me.

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The Road Not Taken

Posted on May 21, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

Several asked asked several times what I would do after the end of the school year. There is no set plan, but we spent a fair amount of time on the weekend beginning a website and some design of a logo for my next adventure. This is an opportunity to continue with several loves: learning, writing, and try make a difference, albeit a small one in the world. There is no certainty of where it takes us. Unlike the bureaucracies I tangled with my entire adult life, this is an opportunity to, as Robert Frost said, “take the road less traveled.” Where I go will not be planned out, but will be an opportunity to make a mark on the trail that others might find and follow.

I get to do this with Kathy. She is much sharper than I am when it comes to the details of a website, planning a logo, and setting the direction the first steps need to take. I get to combine a number of things I love deeply in this new adventure.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

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Posted in Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged creativity, education, learning, Mindful Practice, poetry, Robert Frost, teacher as transformer, The Road not Taken, writing. Bookmark the permalink.

Sacrafice

Posted on May 21, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

This is a beautiful poem about the need to reach out daily, perhaps each moment, and lift those who need support. It is in the uplifting of another, much like a dance, that we uplift our self.

The Winter Bites My Bones

The beauty of ballet
is not found in the graceful plié
nor the elegance of a perfect glissade;
it is in the twisted, broken toes of the dancer;
the slipper full of blood.
The exquisiteness of life
is not in the gathering of fame and riches,
but rather, like the danseur lifting the ballerina,
it is found in the painful sacrifice of self
that lifts another heavenward
toward the dazzling stars.

The beauty of the butterfly
is not in the shimmering iridescence
of its painted wings in morning’s light
or the weightlessness of its flitting flight;
but in the awe-inspiring metamorphosis
from lowly caterpillar to winged god,
as it slowly struggles to survive beneath
the hungry beaks of a thousand birds.
Likewise, the magnificence of Man
is best reflected in the transformation
of the lonely individual
who, despite the darkness of the hour,
finds his wings and angelic cause
in…

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What’s Your Purpose?

Posted on May 20, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

This is wonderful quote to begin the day and think about as we drive home. What gifts give my life meaning and can be given away as my purpose.

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Think Different

Posted on May 18, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

We are on the road today as this is the May long weekend in Canada.

I found this poem the other day and it spoke to me. I love being in the classroom. It is a creative place where I do not worry about pegs and holes. I grew to call my classroom the geometric paradigm where we learned to find the pegs that fit each of us any given day. This poem is a part of Apple‘s advertising.

Without those who do not fit in some way, who cause a certain amount of discomfort, and seek ways to change things up are we able to innovate and create. It is both uncomfortable for those who try to bring about change and to those change impacts. To make it work, we all have to be a little crazy together. Here’s to each of us who embrace a bit of craziness and weirdness.

Here’s to the crazy ones.

The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.

They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.

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Posted in Community, Education, Leadership, Mindful Life and tagged advertising, Apple, community, creativity, education, Mindful Practice, servant-leadership, teacher as transformer, think different. Bookmark the permalink.

Falling In Mutual Weirdness

Posted on May 18, 2013 by ivonprefontaine

We are on the road today, but Russ posted this yesterday and I enjoy a good Dr. Seuss quote. They get my engine stoked for the day and I am a little weird. We should all be weird and fall in love with our weirdness.

Russ Towne's A Grateful Man