When I write and post, I do not know where I go. Each step is its own process without rehearsal.
A step at a time;
A moment at a time
The outlook changes
With each step
With each moment.
The world changes every so slowly
Yet, gracefully
Seek no material reward
Yet, the reward is priceless
A dance with life
Unrehearsed.
Change shines outward
A radiant light shines forth
Illuminates the path
If I am present
The world is a gift
A gift of creation.
I read three articles this weekend and Father Richard Rohr’s daily meditation this morning. I found a clear message in each source and this message has slowly been revealed. Sabbath is a necessary part of my life and I slowly discover its purpose in a mindful attitude. It is in life lived mindfully I obtain a radical unity with my self, creation, neighbor, enemy, and always with God, step by step.
A mindful attitude–
Seek to choose well
Blend fiery passion
With compassion’s loving kindness.
Let life’s fruit mature;
Ripen deeply
Nurture life’s fully.
A spiritual banquet nourishes
Deepest meanings revealed
I Respond to life’s bounty.
Assume responsibility
For one’s self
For each other.
Welcome the world
Understand–
With childlike wonder
Become one;
Become whole
Transform the self.
Yesterday, after I posted a Vaclav Havel poem, It Is I Who Must Begin, I realized there was more than just the poem at play. Sam Intrator in Teaching with Fire, which he co-edited with Megan Scribner, commented in a section entitled Tending the Fire: “Poetry, by its capacity to touch the human soul and tap into the deepest wellsprings of our being, opens up opportunities for us to stay vital and alive” (p. 210).
As I reflected on yesterday’s poem and the role that poetry plays in my life, I realized poetry is a series of conversations. It is both an internal and external process. I turn in with each word, symbol, and term and ask “What does that mean in my life?” I also, in that internal conversation, hear the poet, who is present, through his or her words.
I sit
Book in lap
Each word, space, punctuation
Each has meaning
A personal truth
For each heard differently.
I listen closer
My body leans in
I don’t want to miss any essence
I hear a voice
As in the company of another
Is the poet here with me?
The picture below was not taken today. Winter arrived. In some parts of our fair province 10-15 cm (3-5 inches) of snow fell. The insight is that it will be back up about 15 C on the weekend. Behind each cloud lays blue sky. I only have to wait.
Behind sullen clouds;
Insight awaits
In spaciousness.
Effortlessly
Be present
Hear silence.
In refuge
Rest heart and mind
Drift with the current.
Behind clouds;
Blue sky
Be patient.
Kathy and I went to the farm yesterday and shared Thanksgiving with Kathy’s niece. We took advantage of a nice day for a walk to the old house and down to a slough on the property. Along the way, we came across a doe. She was skittish and it took time and effort to get a picture. It is hunting season in Alberta so that might be part of the skittishness, but, also this doe has a young one. We did not see the spring fawn, but the mother would stand, watch us, and, then take off, probably reassuring herself the fawn was safe and she served as a distraction.
It reminded me of Parker Palmer‘s book,The Hidden Wholeness. He compared the soul to a shy animal. Last Friday, during professional development, after a reference to the spiritual nature of life, I pointed out to a person spirituality is personal and private tentatively shared with our self first and, afterwards, with those we are closest to. I persisted and hope I left food for thought.
As Kathy and I walked, the deer reappeared several times and, despite attempts at being quiet and still, the deer remained shy and reluctant.
I sit quietly, with occasional great stillness, and my spirit, like the deer, runs for cover. In the midst of strangers and intruders, what else could be expected at moments of vulnerability like the hunting season or when we look to protect that which is closest to us.
Quiet and still
Camouflaged and vigilant
Remains in safe haven
Hidden from view
Protects the important
Distracts the intruders
Returns to its child.
I sit
Wait patiently
Soul peeks shyly
Moves tentatively
Waits for safety
Reveals itself in that moment
A dance repeated.
Look closely. The poplar and the spruce in the foreground frame her in the background.
We are in the midst of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and honouring Sabbath holds more meaning although maybe it should not. What if I were grateful and thankful each day-each moment?
Gratitude and thankfulness
Celebrate each moment
Turn to beloved others
Hold tight
Recognize worth
Share sacred
Moment by moment
Recognize extraordinary
Revealed in ordinary
What I take for granted
It is there
In each moment.
The rich bounty
Feel blessed.
That is Kathy standing on a rock right above Rearguard Falls on the Fraser River in Mount Robson Provincial Park. Two things I am grateful for.
Today was professional development day. The inconsistencies revealed in these exercises fascinate me. They are uninspiring, exhausting, and annoying. Frequently, I find these events are counterproductive. What they lack is personal choice. Yet, on my way home, I thought, “Am I seeing this the right way? What can I do to further the process of learning as a role model for students and other adults?” Learning is relational process between people and subject. We live in the world we learn. The world we create is lived out in and through these relationships.
My mission in life seems to have been one of a life-long learner. We sacrificed, as a family, and I obtained a B. Ed. When I felt that was insufficient, we doubled-down and I completed a Master of Education. Today, we have tripled-down and I am completing a PhD. I love learning and, when I am given choice, I believe, like many others in the profession, I make good choices. My learning is not mine. It belongs, in some ways, to those who contributed in many ways to keep the dream alive.
Live fully
Share fully
Learn one’s voice
Sing life’s song.
Whet my curiosity
Recognize gaps in wisdom
Attempt to fill
Best I can.
In each sense
Plant seeds of wonder
Water and feed
Grow rich with the wisdom.
Learn truths
Each moment contains
Be in relationship with the world
With others.
Snow flurries and seasonal temperatures could arrive next week. Even today, we are about 50 C above seasonal. Fall is a wonderful time with colours changing and signaling nature’s dormancy, a time of rest.
As I walked the river valley, I noticed the smell of decay. It was rich and hastened in the unusual warmth of September, but with shortened days the dampness of dew stayed as well.
I walk slowly
Absorb the valley
It touches me in many ways.
Swaths of colour
Deftly applied
By unseen master artist.
Pungent decay
Fills the air
Feeds the soil.
Leaves gently descend
Listen close
A mere whisper.
Nature’s dormancy too quietly descends
A rest time
Prepare for the next planting.
As insight grows,
Clarity emerges
Wisdom revealed.
Enter life’s stream
Accept turbulence
Seek calm waters.
Drop labels
Cease judgment
Fall awake.
It was a tiring day. I sat and reminded myself of a time I felt less tired. I took this picture that day.
I sit
I walk.
In the greater scheme
What does it mean?
Sunlight warms face
Gentle breeze cools air.
Fresh morning;
Comfortable afternoon.
Feel one with Nature
Deep roots.
Supported by ground;
Enveloped by all around.
Afresh, like a beginner;
Feel that which was always there.
See the world;
Feel it for the first time.
I find a place;
A place at the table of life.
Teacher as Transformer 