UNC 81 duke 67!! Heart still pumpin', even though I've taken off my
"Thing One" Carolina blue wig. And, while this true blue Tarheel is flying
high, I know, in the end, THE GAME is really just that: a game. Life and
teaching are not! That came home after I opened my mailbox this morning to
find a question thrown at me.
"Dr. Schmier," a young professor asked me, "what's your secret to why
you feel the way you do about teaching?
I answered simply, tersely, but profoundly, "Four words: 'epiphany,'
'cancer,' 'cerebral hemorrhage.'"
I went on to tell her, "They said the cerebral hemorrhage will never
reoccur, but you never know. All I can say is that if it never happens again,
they were right. But, I'm not waiting around wasting a second of my second
life for a second. They told me 'things will get back to normal,' but they're
wrong. There's no normality to which to return. Since that experience in
September of 2007, I've been going through a very deliberative reflective
process thinking about priorities in my life, about life styles, about outlooks
on life--far more than when I had my epiphany in 1991, far more then when I had
cancer in 2005. Some of my dearest friends tell me 'to deal with it and get
over it.' Well, I have dealt with it, and I am going on, but I refuse to get
over it. And, I don't want to forget that. I use it to prepare me to make the
most of what comes my way. You see, if there is one thing I learned once again
during my recovery and never want to forget, its this: focusing on me, on my
hurts, on my fears, on my problems is not uplifting; it doesn't make for
happiness. Helping others is uplifting and transforming; it converts hardship
into joy, confusion into clarity, aimlessness into purpose, everything into
meaning and significance."
"All of what I've been through has made me live even more
'intentionally.' I am stronger, and more capable, probably in ways that I'll
never be fully aware, and I choose to use that ever-growing strength and
ability in the service of my most treasured visions. Sure, it's a blessing
that I'm still here. If there was a reason for it, I don't understand it.
And, I don't try. I don't look for answers because I believe I am the answer;
instead of looking for meaning, I believe I create meaning; instead of looking
for fulfillment, I have faith that I will be the fulfillment. All I can say,
to have survived unscathed a massive cerebral hemorrhage that you should not
have survived, much less come out of it unscathed, will knock the
self-absorption and arrogance out of you "right quick." Now, I haven't made
big changes; I've just made more changes. I've been "truckin'" since 1991; I'm
just keeping on 'truckin'' more than a little more. I'm just keeping on
living the way I started living since 1991, but just more than a little more
and deeper than a tad deeper. I keep on dreaming; I just feel the dream more.
Instead of being consumed with doubts and fears about what might happen, I
concentrate on what I will cause to happen; I intensely listen to my heart and
see with it, and do what closely resonates with what I listen and see; I don't
worry about what others think; I don't ask for guarantees; I accept and embrace
whatever randomness comes my way."
"So, I am a more deliberate teacher because that randomness puts
opportunities to serve and help others in my path. Let me be emphatic: I just
think that it is my responsibility to help an individual become only an
informed and skilled, but become a good and just person as well. And, being a
teacher perfectly positions me each day to do just that. At this point in my
life, my dreams and desires are more in line with who I truly am than they've
ever been before. What I appreciate about teaching is that every moment is
unique and powerful, every moment puts me into contact with people whom I can
help help themselves, every moment adds to a life of richness. If you want to
live the good life, it's in the classroom where the real state-of-the-art that
is practiced is the "state of the heart." Too many academics think that when
they focus on research and publication, on promotion, on grant getting, and on
tenure it is as if they can see as far as the horizon, and have been quite
satisfied that they can see everything that there is to see. I once walked
those scholarly paths to those dizzy heights. But, as Lao Tzu said, once I let
go of who I was, I started becoming who I could be. You see, I, too, did not
know what I did not know that I now know: when I touch a student, when I help
that student help her/himself help her or him to start letting go and to start
becoming who she or he was capable of becoming, when I help change a life, when
I help alter the future, there is SO much more beauty and truth about who we
are and who we can be that lies so far beyond that old horizon."
"In the last 20 years, with readiness, willingness, purpose, intention,
and service in the service of my highest values: unconditional faith in,
belief in, hope for, and love of each person we call 'student.' Especially
'love,' Lao Tzu was right when he said 'love' is the most powerful passion
because it controls the head, heart, and senses. So, I use all my energy to
take an active role in my journey. I make life happen, to make it go forward,
although it doesn't always happen the way I expect or wish. But, then, I'm not
frustrated, dissatisfied, disillusioned, angered, and/or resigned when it
doesn't because I am never playing the 'perfect' game or the '100%' game or the
'it's all about me' game. Nevertheless, I have been blessed to participate
what I call miracles. When I assess the collective impact they have had on my
vision, my heart and soul, my sense of meaning and purpose, my motivation, my
commitment, those times in the archives and libraries pale in significance and
power to those times in the classroom. And I confess those times I hear from
students, and the joy I feel of 'a job well done,' reconfirm the path I am
struggling so hard to walk.It brings me such inner happiness, such deep
fulfillment, such inner accomplishment, such inner peace. This is why I am a
teacher. I commend to all the same search for happiness. And, notice I
haven't said a word about method, technique, and technology. As Jon Kabat-Zin
says, 'after the ecstasy, the laundry.'"
Make it a good day
-Louis-
Louis Schmier
http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org
Department of History http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
/\
(O) 229-333-5947 /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__ / \ /
\
(C) 229-630-0821 / \/ \_ \/ / \/ /\/ / \
/\ \
//\/\/ /\ \__/__/_/\_\/
\_/__\ \
/\"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=9209
or send a blank email to
leave-9209-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
