remember who you are

Today I'm feeling so quiet and still. There are dishes to be washed, books to be read, walks to be taken and yet all I want to do is just be. Not even meditate, just sit silent and still and do absolutely nothing at all. Of course then come all the thoughts: I should be using this time wisely! There's so many things on the list! What will I have to show for this day? But I've noticed that there are days of high energy, flow and productivity where a sudden burst comes and then there are days like today where it seems like nothing happens. It's okay to let this be a moment of rest. Again and again I seem to be learning that we are not what we do.

One of the most powerful lessons I've learned about Education for Life is that it's not about what you do, but about who you are. It's not about what your students do (or don't do) it's about who they are. Not merely their personalities but their soul-self, their highest and best selves. In the classroom there is something so magical about the safe and sacred space we create together that allows each of us to be ourselves. I miss being in that space and I miss creating that space with the children and for the children. It's not that we're all perfect in that space. There are mistakes made, there are apologies and forgiveness. But there we can be real. We can let down our guard. We can start to remember who we really are. I wonder how we can create a world like that...

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our potential

I think that sense that you have, when you’re caring for a child, that this individual child — just them, just because of who they are — is the most valuable thing in the world — not because they are particularly smart or particularly pretty; it’s just them; they’re incredibly valuable — I think that’s when we’re seeing people clearly. That’s when we’re actually understanding what human values are like. -Allison Gopnik from On Being podcast This is from an interview with Allison Gopnik, a professor of psychology and affiliate professor of philosophy at U.C. Berkeley. She studies the minds of babies and children to help us understand ourselves and what it means to be human. This entire interview was very moving but this part hit me so deeply today that I had to try to share. In the interview, after the above quote, she goes on to say how she and her sisters joke about their grandchild being best. I think, even if we haven't had kids, we all can think of someone special that we...

appreciation

Today was our last day of online class. Never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would be saying those words or living this reality. It was, much like our virtual track meet on Tuesday, one of our best days of our distance learning experience. I would still have preferred to be together but it seems distance makes the heart grow fonder. I appreciate each of them and our class as a whole so much more deeply than I think I might have if we'd been going through our usual routine. It's so easy to get caught in a mentality of just getting through to the end of the year. I'm thankful for the slowness, for the shift in perspective, that this time has offered. As part of our time together I read them a story called The Invisible String by Patrice Karst. It was hard not to cry while reading it! The message is this: we are all, always, connected by invisible strings of love that connect our hearts and we are never really alone. Such a sweet way to end our year and this strange time...

uncontainable joy

A friend posted this picture on Facebook today and it made me smile. So much natural, uncontainable joy! This is who we really are. I miss being around the natural joy and delight of the children at school. There is something so precious about their discoveries, the way they see things for the first time, even when it's not the first time. The amazement over ice crystals in a frozen puddle, the caterpillar in the road, racing to climb the cherry tree at recess to eat the not-yet-ripe cherries. In my mind and in my heart I can almost hear and feel their excitement when we discover something new or come upon some new question or connection in our day. It feels so alive to be in those moments of wonder and curiosity and appreciation with them. Ever new. The question is: can we experience these moments of authentic shared presence and collective curiosity and discovery through distance learning? What does that look like? I'm craving the beautiful mix of spontaneity and rou...

Live From Joy

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