Tag Archives: leadership

Walker

Posted on March 3, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Antonio Machado reminds us that the path we follow is both made anew when we walk it and that once we step we can no longer go back.

We can look back and see where we came from, but that is a distorted image and, the further we move away from that point in time, the more distorted the memories we recall. We can reflect upon those moments and steps in a caring way that takes place only after the step.

It is in mindful walking that we make the path. There is an awareness and senstivity that only happens in the very moment we exist in, the present. Our presence is important in that moment as we step and live at that point on our path of life.

The mindfulness of our steps is important when we realize we lead others in their steps. They cannot walk the identitical path to our path, but the way we compose ourselves is a model for how they might live.

Walker, your footsteps

are the road, and nothing more.

Walker, there is no road,

the road is made by walking.

Walking you make the road,

and turning to look behind

you see the path you never

again will step upon.

Walker, there is no road,

only foam trails on the sea.

23 Comments

Posted in Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged Antonio Machado, community, creativity, education, Educational Leadership, leadership, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, poetry, servant-leadership, teacher as transformer, Walker. Bookmark the permalink.

nature is never finished. – robert smithson

Posted on February 26, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

out walking with the kinders we happened upon a white swan happy and in between seasons. the same as us.

Source: nature is never finished. – robert smithson

When I saw the title of Beth‘s post and read her poem, I thought what a profound moment. Nature has many stories to tell us and many ways of telling them that leave a mystery in each story. We are always between the moments and seasons that desribe the beauty of nature and who we are becoming.

Several years ago, I took a picture of a mountain face. I did not have any idea why I took. It just spoke to me, like the swan in Beth’s poem. I used the picture in a presentation about eco-ethics, after I read an article about geologists who use the striations of a mountain to allow it to tell them its story, knowing it can never be completely told.

When I look at that picture, the mountain tells an even less complete story. The mystery in the story is what draws me back to the picture and maybe is what drew me, without knowing that, when I took the picture.

7 Comments

Posted in Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Uncategorized and tagged conversational journey, creativity, Eco Ethics, Ethics, I didn't have my glasses on, leadership, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, nature, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Dreams To Reality Take Determination

Posted on February 23, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Source: Dreams To Reality Take Determination

The Jesse Owens movie that is coming out is a reminder of the importance of dreams and a person’s determination to follow those dreams. We often forget his story and how he helped break down race barriers in a quiet way with his dreams and determination.

He attended Ohio State University without a scholarship, working several jobs, married, and found time to practice and compete. All this in an era when it would have been unusual and challenging for an African-American to attend an NCAA school like Ohio State.

Kathy worked with one of his grandchildren who told her that Jessie Owens was a quiet and humble man. He worked as a playground supervisor giving back to children and providing a positive role model for young people to follow. Jimmy Carter suggested Jessie Owens did more to break down racial barriers through his determination and his efforts were “a prelude to helping others.”

6 Comments

Posted in Community, Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Reflective Moments, Uncategorized and tagged community, Jessie Owens, Jimmy Carter, leadership, Progressive Education, social justice, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Be Still in Haste

Posted on February 20, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

I find Wendell Berry’s poetry speaks to me about being mindful and attentive in each moment I live. It calls me to be present and explore the mystery in each moment, knowing each moment carries me like a river flowing without knowing where it is going.

The etymology of anarchy suggests we continuously begin anew in each moment. It is not a free-for-all with no rules. Instead, the universe provides us with the rules of what it means to live in that moment. In being present, I come to understand each moment is a re-beginning that is forever unfolding.

Taking the time to be present, allows me to be still even when the world and others are in haste.

How quietly I
begin again

from this moment

looking at the
clock, I start over

so much time has
passed, and is equaled
by whatever
split-second is present

from this
moment this moment
is the first

7 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Poetry, Sabbath and tagged Be Still in Haste, creativity, leadership, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer, Wendell Berry. Bookmark the permalink.

Types of Rose Flower by Color – Red Rose Bud

Posted on February 20, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Dreams by Langston Hughes

Source: Types of Rose Flower by Color – Red Rose Bud

When I taught, I used this poem and Mother to Son written by Langston Hughes. The two poems carry deep thematic meanings about living life, having dreams to follow, and not making excuses when we come up short. I found that for junior high students these themes were important and helped them focus on how they were becoming adults.

Dreams give us a way to imagine we can figuratively fly in life. Mother to Son reminded us that it was not always easy to follow those dreams.

The red rose buds in the pictures add to the imagery about how fragile dreams are in real-time. We need to nurture them and bring them to life as we feed them.

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

4 Comments

Posted in Education, Lesson Plans, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Uncategorized and tagged creativity, education, Langston Hughes, leadership, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, nature, poetry, roses, teacher as transformer, Wallpaper Tadka. Bookmark the permalink.

Living Things

Posted on February 18, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Anne Porter used poetry to describe how text becomes a living thing, always seeking new meaning from readers and listeners. As we read and listen, we find new meaning in the words, the spaces, and the punctuation.

Text is not only about the words, but about the context (who, where, and when), pretext (previous meanings), and subtext (what is hidden from sight). As we read and listen, we ask questions that cannot be fully answered.

Our poems
Are like the wart-hogs
In the zoo
It’s hard to say
Why there should be such creatures

But once our life gets into them
As sometimes happens
Our poems
Turn into living things
And there’s no arguing
With living things
They are
The way they are

Our poems
May be rough
Or delicate
Little
Or great

But always
They have inside them
A confluence of cries
And secret languages

And always
They are improvident
And free
They keep
A kind of Sabbath

They play
On sooty fire escapes
And window ledges

They wander in and out
Of jails and gardens
They sparkle
In the deep mines
They sing
In breaking waves
And rock like wooden cradles.

6 Comments

Posted in Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged Anne Porter, conversational journey, creativity, education, eloquent questions, leadership, LivingThings, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, poetry, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Live

Posted on February 15, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Notes: Full poem here: a blind flaneur. Poem Source: quotes from books

Source: Live

David posted this wonderful Mary Oliver quote. We can embrace the world as a place that amazes us and not merely one we visit in passing. I love the paradox of simultaneously being bride and bridegroom embracing and being amazed.

When we live fully, we engage in a conversation full of questions that can never be fully answered, but that guide us in our journey. This life is not about a planned legacy, but one that emerges in the memories we leave for others.

8 Comments

Posted in Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged community, conversational journey, creativity, leadership, Live, Live and Learn, Mary Oliver, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, poetry, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Today Is Your Day

Posted on February 12, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Today is your day! Don’t let anything or anyone get in your way!

Source: Today Is Your Day

I love Dr. Seuss. I bought several of his books to take out next time and read to Jackson. We still have some at home for when he comes to visit us.

The words and how he used them always gave me pause to stop and think. Someone told me that he wrote these books to help children learn kindness to others. He was a social justice advocate who believed we had a role in helping others. That is a wonderful message for children to learn early in life.

19 Comments

Posted in Community, Education, Leadership, Reflective Moments, Social Justice, Uncategorized and tagged community, Dr. Seuss, education, leadership, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Rumi on the law of attraction

Posted on February 12, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Rumi wrote magnificent poetry that resonates through the ages. Patience is a virtue. When I sit in my place of patience, others, the world, and myself speak to me and I can listen.

Parker Palmer says the soul is like a wild animal. When I trample around and make noise, I scare it away and it is unable to come out of hiding. In a world that is already busy and noisy, I can not hear my heart speak to me, let alone the world and others

In mindful moments, I pause and what I chase after comes to me, relieving me of the stress and anxiety my chasing brings. There is attraction between what I wait for and I find with patience it wants me, as well.

When I run after what I think I want,
my days are a furnace of stress and anxiety;
if I sit in my own place of patience,
what I need flows to me, and without pain.
From this I understand that
what I want also wants me,
is looking for me and attracting me.
There is a great secret here
for anyone who can grasp it.

7 Comments

Posted in Community, Leadership, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged community, conversational journey, leadership, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, Parker Palmer, poetry, Rumi, spirituality, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Delight in the preciousness of every single moment

Posted on February 10, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Source: Delight in the preciousness of every single moment

Pema Chodron reminds us that when we are given lemons make lemonade (in this case strawberries) and savour it by being fully present to the task. Thich Nhat Hanh describes sipping tea, doing dishes, and listening to another person while giving the task and person one’s fullest attention.

Leaders who remain attentive and sensitive to their actions and speech, as well as to their employees, invite followers into a safe space.