We have geniuses in our midst in every time including ours. Sometimes we fail to acknowledge that genius. The other important thing we fail to acknowledge is the beauty of all work. Michelangelo worked physically, cognitively, spiritually, and emotionally. It was a holistic practice.
Happy Valentine Day
Silence
I posted the wonderful poem Daybreak last night and I was reminded of the need for silence as I wrote. Community members added a rich tapestry about the need for silence and the role it plays in life.
It was pretty quiet today and I felt at peace with where I am at and who I am today. I realized I have not written poetry nearly as much recently and found myself drawn to the words I used last night in the preamble.
Silence–
A beautiful place,
Just being,
Hear like never before.
Cradled in gentle spaciousness;
Watered, nourished–
Rest in silence’s glow,
The moment embraces.
Pause–
Breathe–
Listen–
Stillness welcomes.
Refreshed–
I rise,
I grow,
I create.
We sometimes look at our problems as problems. They inhibit our growth when we look at them that way. They should enable us and make us better stronger people. We need help to do that. Life is not lived in alone. It could be lived somewhat in solitude, but sharing is vital.
Daybreak
Silence is a beautiful place to be. I grow in that space and feel the energy renew me. I can stop and listen to what my heart says. Silence, in that way, is the vital pause in life. It is the pause that refreshes to use a line from popular culture. I find humility in my silence because I take time, listen to my self, and listen to the other.
I found this beautiful poem from Nobel Laureate Gabriela Mistral. She was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
My heart swells that the
universe
like a fiery cascade may
enter.
The new day comes. Its coming
leaves me breathless.
I sing like a cavern
brimming
I sing a new day.
For grace lost and recovered
I stand humble. Not giving.
Receiving.
Until the gorgon night,
vanquished, flees.
This is an incredible post with beautiful imagery and a message for each us to enter the day with.
Signs by Five Man Electrical Band is a song from my era and it was one that has always stuck with me. The message is one about rhetoric of the message as opposed to living the message. The song might be more appropriate today than ever in the material and superficial world we are surrounded by. Another reason I like the song is this was a Canadian band.
A Path for Warriors
I commented I finished Margaret Wheatley‘s book, So Far From Home. She concluded with a beautiful poem. It reminded how importance quiet and mindful moments are. I was less rushed these last couple of days and it was like a digital sabbath.
Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, wrote: “The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence. More than that, it is cooperation in violence. The frenzy of the activist…destroys his own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”
My mother used to teach us about being Soldiers of Christ. We walk in the “same steps as Christ” (2 Corinthians 12:18, 1 Peter 2:21). We “[pray] always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18), and “open your mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). Soldiers, in this context, seek peace from within and quiet the mind so their actions and words parallel each other.
We are grateful to discover our right work and happy to be engaged in it.
We embody values and practices that offer us meaningful lives now.
We let go of needing to impact the future.
We refrain from adding to the aggression, fear and confusion of this time.
We welcome every opportunity to practice our skills of compassion and insight, even very challenging ones.
We resist seeking the illusory comfort of certainty and stability.
We delight when our work achieves good results yet let go of needing others to adopt our successes.
We know that all problems have complex causes. We do not place blame on any one person or cause, including ourselves and colleagues.
We are vigilant with our relationships, mindful to counteract the polarizing dynamics of this time.
Our actions embody our confidence that humans can get through anything as long as we’re together.
We stay present to the world as it is with open minds and hearts, knowing this nourishes our gentleness, decency and bravery.
We care for ourselves as tenderly as we care for others, taking time for rest, reflection and renewal.
We are richly blessed with moments of delight, humor, grace and joy.
We are grateful for these.
I am a little slow this morning. I enjoyed my time at Teacher’s Convention and three of the presentations were outstanding, I found a new favourite restaurant and walked a lot. The fourth presentation was pretty good. What uplifts my spirit seemed a great way to start the day.
Human Hearts and Spirits
I had another great day at Teacher’s Convention. Made another contact for my dissertation process. It is quite interesting the willingness of people to help.
Harry Russ who provides the blog wrote this beautiful poem. I finished reading Margaret Wheatley‘s book, So Far From Home. She referred several times to human hearts and their capacity for love and kindness. Parker Palmer, in his book Healing the Heart of Democracy, referred to the heart being able to hold so much. Harry’s Russ’ poem reminded me of their writing and I think he is on to something: the heart and the spirit combined have incredible capacity.
“Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the human heart can hold.” Zelda Fitzgerald
…But if I might be so bold
While I don’t know the exact amount
From what I have found
I believe
The human spirit
Can store
Even more
More and more, I think this is true. We need to be in relationship in this world with others and the world we live in.
Teacher as Transformer 