Tag Archives: Mindful

Canadian Thanksgiving

Posted on October 12, 2020 by ivonprefontaine

It is Canadian Thanksgiving today. Instead of Thanksgiving being a once a year day with underlying commercial interests, it raised questions about being full of thanks for each ensuing moment. What if I were grateful and thankful each day-each moment? This is impossible. What I need to do is hold the thought at the forefront and perhaps it elevates the thankfulness I experience.

We began with a dinner last night with our oldest son and his partner. He headed out to an out-of-town job today. Tonight, we celebrate with our youngest. He worked last night, so was unavailable.

Gratitude and thankfulness–

Turning to beloved;

Embracing one another;

Celebrating what held sacred.

In each moment–

Experiencing the extraordinary;

Revealing itself in the ordinary;

Sensing it is there.

Harvesting bounties–

Sharing common weal;

Valuing de-monetized wealth;

Feeling blessed.

I took this of Kathy standing on a rock above Rearguard Falls on the Fraser River in Mount Robson Provincial Park. I am thankful for the time we spend together and Nature.

24 Comments

Posted in Community, Leadership, Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Sabbath, teacher as transformer, Writing and tagged canadian thanksgiving, community, Fraser River, leadership, Mindful, mindfulness, mount robson provincial park, nature, photography, poetry, sabbath, teacher as trasnformer, Thanksgiving, writing, writing poetry. Bookmark the permalink.

What Can I Do?

Posted on October 1, 2019 by ivonprefontaine

I posted What Can I Do on December 12, 2012 as a response to the Sandy Hook school shootings.

Several weeks ago, Kathy asked if I Google myself. I replied I had, but there was not a lot. I told her I thought there was maybe a page related to Teacher as Transformer, my Twitter account, Facebook, presentations I made, etc.

Kathy Googled me and found a link to Amazon. It was a book review for a poetry anthology published by Silver Birch Press.

I have poems in the anthology. The review included Barbara Mojica‘s comments: One of my favorites is “What Can I Do” by Ivon Prefontaine. Here are a few lines: Change begins in me./I am a catalyst/I look inside:/Call forth a gentle spirit-/Give it voice.

As I explore mindfulness in daily life, I thought this was an example of two related phenomena. First, as a writer and teacher, I do not know how my words and actions might transcend time and place. Second, as a result, there is a demand on me to be mindful of how I speak and act.

Here is the text of the poem and below is a video with a reading and more context to the poem.

On a sombre day–

Grief and sorrow the order,

Message heard:

Change begins in me.

I am a catalyst

Look inside:

Summon forth a gentle spirit–

Let it speak.

In light, love happens–

Resonates,

Reaches out its hand

Beckon others to join.

Rings on clear pond,

Ripples of love touch,

Love cascades forth,

Good people meet.

Good touches good,

Prayer meets prayer,

Love conquers hate

Join together.

Good people summoned–

Their tears catalyze,

Grieve and heal as one.

32 Comments

Posted in Community, Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Poetry, teacher as transformer, Writing and tagged Barbara Ann Mojica, blogging, Buddhism, compassion, life, loving kindness, Mindful, Mindful Attitude, mindfulness in daily life, poem, poetry, Sandy Hook, Silver Birch Press, what can I do. Bookmark the permalink.

New Beginnings

Posted on January 14, 2019 by ivonprefontaine

via New Beginnings

Wildflower Women posted a lovely quote from Mary Oliver ushering in 2019.

We celebrate moments as if they are unique to a particular time. To be present and live in the world fully, perhaps each moment is a New Year flowing endlessly in the form of a river.

As I embrace the present moment, I kiss possibilities of what will be in the following moment without knowing this in advance.

Whitehead contended the present moment is holy ground where the past and future are always meeting and becoming whole. Holy, whole, and healing are linked etymologically.

Kathy took this photo as we travelled to BC just over a year ago.

Posted in Blogging, Community, Leadership, Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Reflective Moments, teacher as transformer, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged Alfred North Whitehead, blogging, imagine, Mary Oliver, Mindful, mindfulness, New Year, presence, Wildflower Women. Bookmark the permalink. 9 Comments

Mindful

Posted on May 13, 2017 by ivonprefontaine

Today’s post is short. I was hooded today and the poem that ran through my mind was Mindful by Mary Oliver. This is the ultimate poem for me on a day like today. There is always something that can more or less kill me with delight.

Several speakers today reminded us that it is not the extraordinary we are looking for, but the ordinary that propels us into the extraordinary. Being mindful and attentive in and to the world is an essential element in being propelled.

Everyday
I see or hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for —
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world —
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant —
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings
as these —
the untrimmable light

of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

59 Comments

Posted in Community, Leadership, Mindful Life, Photography, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath, teacher as transformer and tagged creativity, education, leadership, Mary Oliver, Mindful, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, PhD, photography, poetry, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

goldenquotesrb

Posted on March 22, 2017 by ivonprefontaine

Source: goldenquotesrb

I began following this blog recently and it has many great quotes.

Einstein is one of my favourite sources for quotes. When I taught, I had a poster in the classroom with this quote: “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

One day, a student asked who the person in the poster was. I replied that it was my dad. Another student said that could not be true. I answered that we both had wild hair and were eccentric. A third student pointed out Einstein’s name on the poster, but from that time on, students always asked which dad I talked about when I said something about my dad. It was a great way to teach about literal and figurative ideas.

Being present includes responding reflexively in appropriate ways. Listening to others mindfully, I can respond properly. When I began to teach, I found it hard to do that, often tripping up, saying the wrong thing, and sometimes nothing at all. With experience, I grew and became more effective, listening carefully to what others had to say.

13 Comments

Posted in Education, Humour, Synchronicity, teacher as transformer, Uncategorized and tagged Albert Einstein, being present, conversational journey, creativity, education, Mindful, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Mindful

Posted on March 17, 2017 by ivonprefontaine

This poem is my favourite by Mary Oliver. It took on more significance in the last week, as I defended my dissertation and completed my PhD requirements.

Every day I see or hear something that more or less

kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle

in the haystack of light. It was what I was born for – to look, to listen,

to lose myself inside this soft world – to instruct myself over and over

in joy, and acclamation. Nor am I talking about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful, the very extravagant – but of the ordinary, the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations. Oh, good scholar, I say to myself, how can you help

but grow wise with such teachings as these – the untrimmable light

of the world, the ocean’s shine, the prayers that are made out of grass?

I find the idea that the daily life I live, which I often take-for-granted, is essential to my growing wise. The dissertation and research took on that form, as I gathered the lived-experiences of several teachers, including myself and explored how we are becoming teachers.

It is in the daily lives we live, our autobiographies, that we find the richest date, even though it sometimes slips through our fingers in the midst of the busyness we experience. Our stories call us to stop, be mindful of them, and seek meaning in the thoughtful questions we ask.

I find wise teachings in the untrimmable light of the world.

35 Comments

Posted in Education, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments, teacher as transformer and tagged education, eloquent questions, Mary Oliver, Mindful, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, poetry, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Each Day Is A Gift

Posted on December 27, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Each day is a gift! Make sure you share it with joy and happiness!

Source: Each Day Is A Gift

This is a beautiful thought that we can each take action on and bring to life.

14 Comments

Posted in Community, Leadership, Mindful Life, Reflective Moments, teacher as transformer, Uncategorized and tagged learning community, Mindful, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, relationships, Snoopy. Bookmark the permalink.

This is what life is all about…dance

Posted on January 22, 2016 by ivonprefontaine

Picture from: Pinterest

Source: This is what life is all about…dance

When I read the title and looked at the image, it reminded me of the Satchel Paige quote: “Work like you don’t need the money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like nobody’s watching.”

When we live life to the fullest, we can find so much without looking for it. It finds us. When we remaind mindful, life and alls its manifestations show themselves to us.

11 Comments

Posted in Community, Education, Leadership, Mindful Life, Reflective Moments and tagged community, creativity, Dancing, life, Mindful, Mindful Practice, mindfulness, Satchel Paige, teacher as transformer. Bookmark the permalink.

Song for Nobody

Posted on May 17, 2015 by ivonprefontaine

Thomas Merton was a Trappist Monk and prolific spiritual writer of the mid-20th Century with many works published posthumously. He passed away in an accident at a relative young age so it is hard to say how much more writing he had in him. He is best known for his essays, journals, and letters, but wrote poetry and was an artist as well.

He included as one of his key themes the key concept of activism as a form of violence on one’s self. He drew on Eastern philosophies and mindfulness in describing contemplation as a human necessity in the 20th Century with its busyness and distractions. One can only imagine what he would think today.

I thought of the biblical passages about how lilies grow and just do what comes naturally. The flowers sing their songs without words by themselves without spin and toil. We find their music in their simplicity.

A yellow flower
(Light and spirit)
Sings by itself
For nobody.

A golden spirit
(Light and emptiness)
Sings without a word
By itself.

Let no one touch this gentle sun
In whose dark eye
Someone is awake.

(No light, no gold, no name, no color
And no thought:
O, wide awake!)
A golden heaven
Sings by itself
A song to nobody.

6 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Poetry, Reflective Moments, Sabbath and tagged Bible, Consider How the Lilies Grow, Mindful, mindfulness, nature, Song for Nobody, spirituality, teacher as transformer, Thomas Merton. Bookmark the permalink.

A Mindful Moment

Posted on September 3, 2014 by ivonprefontaine

A Mindful Moment.

The link is to a post that is both simple and deeply moving. Meditate comes from the root which means to measure. This measuring is not about applying a number and is about the qualities of what is being observed. In this case, a candle flame.

Prayer comes from the word meaning obey. We can only obey when we listen deeply and find those quiet moments where silence appears speaking to us in its fullness.