The billowing clouds of golden "pine pollen storms" turned the bluing
skies of
dawn into an eerie green. Goldfinger is here! Even the gnats and mosquitoes
are gilded.
At the end of last week, our Spring literally had sprung in one day from a
wintry Thursday
in the 40s and 50s to a summery Friday in the very high 80s. As I walked along
the
streets, threatened to get clogging "yellow lung," my golden chest striped by
rivulets of
sweat so that I looked like a white and yellow zebra, I heard the chirping of a
bird. I
stopped for a moment, sneezed out some pollen, and listened. I went over to
the curb and
sat down. I thought of a sharp e-mail exchange I had with a student this past
Friday and
Saturday. I heard the bird again, and I began to feel its melody. I could
feel a smile
forming on my face; I could feel an awareness rising inside. I felt an
awakening stirring
that went beyond opening my eyes and moving my body. I felt an eagerness
rising to get
started and to make something happen. I got up and started walking the street
again, and
now walking toward the center of my inner being filled with a calm joy.
You, I've learned since my epiphany, my cancer, my cerebral
hemorrahage, that if a
sweet song like that bird fills you with a happiness, if so much as a blade of
grass
springing up in your lawn moves you, if a spider web causes you to wonder, if
the sight of
stars in the night sky awes you, if a bulb popping up astounds you, if that
person lying
at your side fills you with gratitude, if a person in class amazes you, be
glad. Be
happy. Be humble. Celebrate. You are alive. Your spirit is thriving. A
single bird or
a single blossom or a single star or a single ray of the sun or a single person
ought to
be enough to convince your that today is somehow a gift of now and that it is
your
responsibility to bring life to life now. I told a friend of mine that all
these have a
secret to tell us about ourselves. They're telling us that we each have a
choice of how
to see, feel, hear, taste, and live this day. We can run around and watch it
pass by in a
blur. We can sit around and be blinded and deafened to it by resigned or
angered moans
and groans. We can let it go unnoticed and take it all for granted. But,
then, we'd miss
out on all the fun, beauty, and significance. Or, we can honor this day, honor
its love
and beauty, and honor its possibilities. So, too, we can go into a classroom
with a
"zoned-out" blasé, blind, deaf--and maybe even heartless--"ho-hum" as though
nothing is
miraculous. Or, we can enter the classroom with a tuned in "wow," knowing each
day is a
very special occasion and that everything is a miracle, determined to make each
moment
into something great.
There is nothing, however, that is self-evident. Nothing will pop up
like toast
or shout out to announce itself. It's all perception. What you constantly
tell yourself,
you will see. What you constantly see, you will believe. True or not, what you
truly
believe, becomes your truth. And, you will weave your truth into every fiber
of your
life. Me? As a cancer survivor and survivor of a massive cerebral hemorrahage
I should
not have survived, much less survived unscathed, I have learned that Carl Jung
was right.
As I merely look outside, I dream, maybe merely passively wish; as I look
inside, I am
awake and alert, and I act. I feel privileged and humbled to be alive. So, I
constantly
remind myself that it's great to be alive. But, I also know even more that it
is not
enough merely to be, that it's not enough merely to float on the surface of
life. Trust
me, for as great as is to be alive, it is greater to look into every corner of
my life
each day with a consciously thankful heart and be astounded as hidden blessings
appear. I
can attest that the real joy in life is to be engaged. It is more interesting
to be
involved, more meaningful to participate, more purposeful to serve, and more
significant
to make a difference. So, I've got to be alive and kicking, and diving deep.
Having learned what makes for a true and deep happiness that no resume,
no
publication, no bank of information, no title can offer, I go into each class
to bring
life both to my life and that of others. You know from reading student
journals, I've
concluded that so many people are like furniture: they have to be restored,
renewed,
revived, and reclaimed if they are to achieve. And, we have to be like pack
rats; we
should never throw out anyone, for each person has an inestimable value that is
so often
hidden by a ratty appearance. So, I go into each class each day with my senses
on full
alert, especially my sixth sense. What is my sixth sense? It's my sense of
wonder as I
gaze at each student. It is a wonder of each student beyond words which
energizes and
inspires. It is awe that moves us and moves us forward. If you want to feel
alive, if
you want to be alive in that classroom, move with legs that dance with that
wonder,
perceive with eyes to see it, inhale with lungs that breathe it, hear with ears
that
listen to it, feel with skin that it makes tingles, draw nourishment with every
organ in
your body from it. I read, live, and breath my "Teacher's Oath" each day. And,
I don't
care how I feel when I go into that class, I come alive, body and soul, and I
come out
from it alive; my heart is lifted to the heights of ecstatic joy and hope for
all
possibilities when I'm in it; I sing with the energetic notes of life when I
leave it. I
know each class is meaningful in some way for me. Each class makes my day each
day, and
you can make it do the same for you.
Make it a good day.
--Louis--
Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Department of History
http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
(229-333-5947) /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__/\ \/\
/ \/ \_ \/ / \/
/\/
\ /\
//\/\/ /\
\__/__/_/\_\ \_/__\
/\"If you want to climb
mountains,\ /\
_ / \ don't practice on mole
hills" -
---
You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org.
To unsubscribe click here:
http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=1795
or send a blank email to
leave-1795-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
