To be present and aware in the world is a rare gift. Here is a gift from William Stafford.
Enjoy.
Category Archives: Reflective Moments
Companions – by Ivon
I occasionally forget what got me where I am today. I follow a blog called Slappshot and its author poses questions. Recently, he asked, “What’s your line of work and if you could choose another career…what would it be?”
I responded, “I would not want to change anything, but, if I could keep everything else in tact, I want to be a professional hockey player.” You see what I have is very good. Yes, I struggle with things each day, but around me there are people who care and this poem is for them. I am learning to focus on the positive in life instead of the negative.
Each morning
Awaken
Tentatively step forward
Discover voice
Discover meaning
That which nourishes, waters, and heals the soul
With those who stand with you
For you
By you
Share the journey
Break bread
Mutual, Reciprocal, Companionship
A refuge in each other
Speak mindfully, heartfully, graciously
Hear mindfully, heartfully, graciously
Your self and the other present.
The Gift of Love – John Lennon
We’ve got this gift of Love, but Love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep watering it. You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it.
~John Lennon
Paradox in Nature
I found these picture of a small lake in the Crowsnest Pass when I was looking at the pictures I posted at A Time to Listen. Nature is a spectacular and paradoxical part of creation and I hope this is revealed in the following.
Green, aqua, granite
Nature draws from her palette
Drawing me to her.
Water cascading
Suddenly appears out of rock
Disappears again.
Calmness and chaos
Nature speaks in paradox
Harmony emerges.
A Time to Listen – Visually and Poetry
Kathy and I travel. We spend time during the summer touring Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and adjoining American states. This summer we are revisiting Waterton Lakes National Park as part of my rehab. We travel through this area regularly and it brings back great memories.
On one trip, we stopped at a provincial park just above Lundbreck Falls. Recently, I went through pictures of the Crowsnest River downstream and it reminded of what I notice and don’t notice in life. Wendell Berry wrote a beautiful piece: The Impeded Stream is the One that Sings. I realized I heard the river before I saw it. I recalled the life around the river: cottonwood fluff flying, flowering wild rose, insects pollinating, and a musky smell perhaps of a bear recently by. The river is a living instrument sharing a song to others forming a web of life.
I read Wendell Berry’s words while reliving the picture and was inspired to write a Haiku.
Observe life’s current
Pausing, listening, caring
Present with my self.
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters by Portia Nelson
A medical practitioner I visit once a week to try resolve some issues with chronic, physical pain was the source of this wonderful, insightful poem. Whether physical, emotional, spiritual, or intellectual, I fall into habits and absolve my self of responsibility f or my actions.
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
~ Portia Nelson ~
Human Being Instead of Human Doing
Many days I wonder about what other are doing, what causes them to do it, and what I can do to control their behaviours. I used the word do a lot in that first sentence. When I wonder that way, I become angry, frustrated, and hurt. I become a human doing instead of a human being. Being present and living each moment mindfully is part of this being.
Some words and an image to help us be today. Happy summer solstice.
The art of life isn’t controlling what happens, which is impossible; it’s using what happens.
~Gloria Steinem
Teachers as Storytellers
Think of the people we call teachers, not just in classrooms but in every facet of our lives. A quality they share is storytelling. They connect with our hearts and minds. We laugh, cry, yell, and carry on in every imaginable way with them. We remember them not because of what they taught us, but what they revealed about themselves and helped us discover about our self.
The best teachers are the best storytellers. We learn in the form of stories.
~Frank Smith
The Violence of Modern Life
Thomas Merton is one of my favourite authors and spiritual thinkers. He offered a radical definition of violence. This sounds like the opposite of multi-tasking, single-tasking. I hope I can do better as I move forward and take time to listen to the inner teacher and its wisdom.
Parker Palmer shared this with those of us who follow him on Facebook.
pedagogy of the oppressed by Paulo Freire
I read pedagogy of the oppressed by Paulo Freire during my undergraduate experience and return to it as a source of reflection and when I write. Similar to Parker Palmer, Paulo Freire left an indelible mark on my life’s practice. Education is an uplifting, liberating experience which shines light on each step Antonio Machado described: “Wanderer, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more; wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking.” Freire’ s contention was everyone can act as an agent in their learning thus freeing them and transforming the world they live in.
Freire used the Portuguese word conscientização which “refers to learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality” (17). Humans become mindful of and present in the world and act to transform it. Freire used a banking metaphor and described traditional education where knowledge is deposited into students. Teachers and the system act oppressively in determining what is important to learn. Freire felt education uplifted people and their learning. “Liberation is a praxis: the action and reflection of men and women upon their world in order to transform it” (p. 60). Learning occurs when compliance and conformity are rejected in favour of dialogue based on love which allows each human to name their world and what is of value in it. The student is a teacher and student; the teacher both student and teacher.
Questions: What can we do to truly bring a new pedagogical structure into our schools and communities of learning? What function would school play in this pedagogical structure? What is dialogue based on love? What role do educators and communities play in liberation education?
Recommendation: I love the book. It is a challenging, but I return to it often and find something new each time. Today, I became aware of the following: “Concepts such as unity, organization, and struggle are immediately labeled as dangerous. … These concepts are dangerous—to the oppressors” (p. 122). What does this mean in supposedly modern, liberated, and affluent societies?
A second point was the similar language used by Freire and Martin Buber. There is a shared understanding of respectful dialogue using the words I and Thou to describe the uplifting, liberating, loving dialogic process.
Freire, P. (1993). pedagogy of the oppressed. (M. B. Ramos, Trans.). New York: Continuum.
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Teacher as Transformer 