Tag Archives: creativity

Winter Nights

Posted on December 1, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

It is December 1 and Christmas is just around the corner. The last few days I recalled what it was like in rural northern Alberta at this time of the year. We used to sit upstairs and look out the window on cold, cold nights shimmering with white. What caught my eye and ear was the magic provided by the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. They don’t appear in Edmonton as I recall them from my childhood memories. What message was in those celestial colours and sounds?

Small children–

Breathlessly wait,

Peer through frosted window

Soak it in.

Heavens ripple–

Lights undulated;

A celebratory fury

An indisputable guide.

This old house speaks;

Nature answers–

Crackles from the heavens

Sweet symphonic sounds.

Earth’s floor–

Blanketed in white

Celestial colours shimmer

Captures young eyes.

A vivid winter scene,

A sensual, sensory palette,

Reminds me–

Christ’s Mass draws near.

The photo came from Seven Wonders of Canada.

17 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Poetry, Sabbath, Uncategorized and tagged Chistmas, creativity, eloquent questions, Mindful Practice, nature, poetry, teacher as transformer, winter, winter scene. Bookmark the permalink.

Medicine Wheel

Posted on November 30, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Medicine wheels are part of many First Nations’ cultures. They serve to connect people to the environment and reflect our interdependence with nature and each other. They signal the need for balance required in our lives and ground us with and in our world. I took the picture on Bowen Island and began to write the poem.

I feel welcomed–

At home,

I found my way–

Linked to the universe,

With each being

Inseparably bound–

I could not lose my way

A voice gently beckons,

“Cross the hearth.”

Bask in its warmth–

Refresh with its water–

Breathe its sweet air–

Let the earth ground–

Replenish here;

No magic–

Only magical.

23 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Photography, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged creativity, environment, Mindful Practice, nature, photography, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

The Panther

Posted on November 29, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I had a great day today. The beauty of mindfulness is I am learning that good and not so good pass and flow into another moment. I waited more than 1/2 of my life, I hope, to learn this lesson. The day was long, but sharing tea and conversation at the end completed it so fully.

Today, as I reflected on yesterday’s ‘trials’ I recalled Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem, The Panther. I felt like that yesterday. When I let go, I felt so much better; I no longer pacing behind bars.

From seeing the bars, his seeing is so exhausted

that it no longer holds anything anymore.

To him the world is bars, a hundred thousand

bars, and behind the bars, nothing.

The lithe swinging of that rhythmical easy stride

which circles down to the tiniest hub

is like a dance of energy around a point

in which a great will stands stunned and numb.

Only at times the curtains of the pupil rise

without a second … then a shape enters,

slips through the tightened silence of the shoulders,

reaches the heart, and dies.

21 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged creativity, Mindful Practice, poetry, Rainer Maria Rilke, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

My Status Quo

Posted on November 28, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Is it a full moon tonight? The classroom and beyond was full of energy and it was not always healthy. I was a little frustrated and visibly annoyed part way through the afternoon. I taught one more year and wanted to teach these students so it hurts when they are disrespectful. On the way home I realized I need to set the pace. My ability to influence is my ability to shake up my status quo and walk into the fire so to speak. I chose to have a dog in this fight so what am I going to do. Even weeds of a tough day have purpose. They fertilize and increase the yield of a crop: children’s learning. This is not lost on me.

transformation–

my status quo defenseless;

an ongoing quest

seek a vision

unearth the true self

one digs deep

rest in sureness of the heart.

transform–

polish the gems of self

right speech! right action!

be confident

challenge my status quo,

influence others seriously

your time has arrived.

25 Comments

Posted in Community, Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged community, creativity, education, leadership, Mindful Practice, poetry, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

A Stranger’s Voice

Posted on November 27, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

When Monday rolls around and I spent Sunday disconnected, I find things quite loud and hectic. I even find my voice loud and my mind hurried and harried, but I do find I am increasingly able to recognize this is the case in that moment.

I heard a voice–

At once, both

Familiar yet unfamiliar.

This voice–

Somehow too loud

Intruded upon the day.

Tried to lean in

Attempted to recognize

Where had I heard this stranger?

Suddenly,

Without warning

I recognized it!

It was mine–

Out of place

After a spacious silence.

14 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath and tagged creativity, Mindful Practice, poetry, sabbath, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

A Place; A Space

Posted on November 23, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Recently, I began to consider the word organization and its meaning. We use it as a noun for the places where we work, learn, and play. Its root, organ, suggests life and interaction. Without all parts working together in some cohesive way, it disintegrates. As well, an organ, as a musical instrument, needs a human touch. Humans organize, work, learn, and achieve through a common purpose. When we fail, it is the humanity around us that helps us back to our feet.

This place–

This space–

Welcomes–

Beckons.

Cold, aloof–

Some frigid lover.

Not frantically clinging–

An anxious lover

Here one moment; gone the next

A capricious lover

No! Fully alive–

Not on life support!

Exudes a hearty warmth–

Healthy, vibrant.

It is the human touch;

A lover’s gentle embrace–

Arms hold close;

Not too tight

An invitation.

A place–

A space–

I want to be.

A place–

A space–

That calls me–

Gives me voice

Something in common.

15 Comments

Posted in Community, Leadership, Learning Organizations, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged community, creativity, leadership, Learning Organizations, Mindful Practice, poetry, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

A Child Sits

Posted on November 22, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Several years ago, during a lively family discussion about war, I was asked where I stood. Peace is simple, yet apparently unachievable. I am opposed to war on the grounds there is a Commandment: “Thou shall not kill!” This underpins all Abrahamic traditions which guide Judeo-Christian and Islamic faiths. Furthermore, this premise is central to the Golden Rule which is universal. Who suffers? Inevitably, it is the weakest, the most vulnerable.

A child sits–

Shivers

Is it the cold?

Hunger

Loneliness, fear

So fragile and weak

In desperate need.

Amidst war’s carnage–

No refuge

Only chaos

Military heroes wreak havoc

Who is the toughest?

The biggest bully?

Kick sand in a child’s eyes.

There is no right side

Real courage

Begs and pleads?

Stop

Wanton, senseless

Violence and death!

Who gains?

It does not take a hero to order bombs lobbed into civilian areas of cities. Nor does it take a hero to hide behind women and children when bombs are lobbed. Last night, I heard a talking head on TV ask who has the moral high ground. Is there really one when the objective of both sides is to punish the most vulnerable. What a silly question. There is no moral high ground in war only criminality.

22 Comments

Posted in Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Social Justice and tagged creativity, eloquent questions, human-rights, leadership, Mindful Practice, poetry, politics, religion, senseless violence, social justice, spirituality, teacher as transformer, war. Bookmark the permalink.

Rhythm of Life

Posted on November 21, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I started out with Hole in the Doughnut as a title for this poem. That had played in the recesses of my mind off and on all day. But as the poem wrote itself, I realized that might too trite even if it seemed accurate. Who has eaten a doughnut without a hole? The hole completes the doughnut. Without the hole the doughnut is a bagel.

Busy trying to fill a hole–

Plug a gap

But to no avail–

So futile;

Go dig a hole in the ocean.

Hole and whole indivisible;

Not just a play on words–

Are complete only together

Beauty in paradoxical relationship.

It invites

Calls to us

Embraces fully

Adds welcome tension–

The rhythm of life lived.

7 Comments

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

Warrior’s Quest

Posted on November 17, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I sat today and was going to post a Lao Tzu poem, The Uses of Not. I typed a short preamble and realized it was a Sabbath poem. Sometimes it is in paradox I find the most sense. It is in questions that I deepen conversations. I am in service of the questions. Earlier this week, I said I spent much of my life chasing answers. This is an echo of Father Richard Rohr who says maturity leads us to stop chasing certainty. I seek eloquent questions with no ready answers: and invite others into conversations. I might have used pirate, but I began reading Shambhala:The Path of the Sacred Warrior by Chögyam Trungpa recently and it offered a new understanding, for me, of the word warrior.

Paradox–

Seemingly incompatible tempest

Space invites space

Forms a spacious meadow.

Deepen conversations–

Without ready answers;

But, eloquent questions

Be open, surprised.

A warrior’s quest–

Lighten the load

Be grateful and receive the gifts

Serve the journey.

Shape paths–

Ready each step

Because it is right

And not fully known.

14 Comments

Posted in Community, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath, Synchronicity and tagged chogyam-trungpa, community, conversational journey, creativity, eloquent questions, leadership, Mindful Practice, poetry, shambhala, spirituality, teacher as transformer, warrior. Bookmark the permalink.

Unpretentious Intimacy

Posted on November 16, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I am in Vancouver International Airport. I am tired, but, I think, I was rewarded these last few days. I am grateful I was able to turn in and reflect. After a tough day, I people around me reached out and seemed to sense my discomfort. The result was gratifying, but it was not the result. Instead, it was the comfort being with people who cared and brought me into the fold.

I wonder what makes me who I am? Is it the moments I drop my shield of invincibility and show a vulnerable self? That is a scary place, but is so rewarding. It is the slowness of a crock pot where the fruit of intimacy is born. Here, I gain identity in the a relational and caring mirror. But, it sneaks up on me without even realizing it is there.

In a wondrous space

One’s most guarded secrets;

Unshared desires;

Find form—

In a carnival mirror,

Is that me?

Vulnerable—

Lie with a lover

An uncertain first time

Truest intimacy blooms;

That is who I am

Revealed in the other.