Chris, The poem...made my spine tingle.
Thanks Eric Chris Weaver wrote: > > Hi List, > > I'm enjoying the thread about boundaries. Lately I am engaged in a community > conversation in my workplace about tools for responsive teaching...or about > holding space for childrens' creativity. As my colleagues and I have delved > deeply into the question of what creativity is and what supports it, I have > found myself thinking, without knowing why, about the idea of spiritual > obedience. In fact I am rather relishing the notion of obedience, and I think > it has something to do with the secret power of boundaries. Honoring > structure, holding structure, and why, and which. > > Anyhoo, I wrote a poem. > > Talking to Noah > > I found him late in life > carving a piece of wood > by a dry stream bed. > > You know, Grandfather, I began, > I want to be as obedient as you. > Will you tell me about it? > > He had the kind of face > that didn¹t need to smile. > His face was a smile. > > Obedience, he said, as if > hearing the word > for the first time. > > He looked up at me. > Yes, he said. > I¹ll tell you about it. > > When I was a boy, I was shy > and besieged by a doubt > that no one could understand. > > For a time it was like living > alone in an oven, looking out at people, > them in the cool air, me burning. > > Then one day, a woman looked in at me. > She was old, and beautiful, > a shepherdess with dusty feet. > > She recognized me, and held > out her hands. I took them, > and she pulled me out of there, > > so smoothly, so naturally, > that I didn¹t even have time > to be surprised. > > That¹s what it¹s like > when your shackles get broken. > Sparks don¹t fly. It¹s like melting > > ice, like opening your eyes > after sleep. We sat on a rock > and she held my hands in hers, > > turning them slowly, looking at them. > She was quiet for a long time, > and finally she said, > > You pay attention, Noah. > You¹re going to build something. -- .·´¯`·.¸ ><((((º> .·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ <º))))>< ,.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((º> ¸.·´¯`·..·´¯`·.¸ ><((((º> .·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·.¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((º> .·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸ <º))))>< .·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸ ><((((º> ¸.·´¯`·..·´¯`·.¸ ******PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF ADDRESS****** Eric Lilius Box 27 Eagle Lake, Ontario, Canada K0M 1M0 email:elil...@halhinet.on.ca ph: 705-754-9859 fax: 705-754-9860 "The Great Way is not difficult for he who has no preferences" Hsin Hsin Ming: The Sutra of the Sixth Zen Patriarch * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
