Took a very brief respite from nursing Susie while her cold rush therapy machine eased the pain in her shoulder. Haven't gotten around to putting together those very uneducational things called "final grades" due next Monday. Am in communicato with students. First things first, and helping Susie recover from her surgery comes first, last, and only at this time. If heaven can wait, so can final grades. Anyway, I was sitting by the pond. No walking. Muscles ache. Little sleep. All night medication and icing down regimen meant I was on the den couch next to Susie in the reclining chair with my eyes closed and ears cocked listening for both the timer and Susie. Haven't gone deep in two nights. It may not be restful for me, but it's comforting to her. And, that is all that matters.
It was dawn. Keeping the patio door open so I could hear Susie through the screen doors if and when she needed me, I braved the awaking mosquitoes and sat by the fishpond, sipping a cup of freshly brewed Tanzania Peaberry coffee, listening to the sooth sounds of the waterfalls. Heralding first light, some birds chirped above me in the branches of the pine and magnolia tree that majestically stand guard over the pond. You know, some would just look at those trees and don't see a thing; some would see so many impersonal atoms or impersonal laws of nature; some would see so many board feet for construction; and, some would see both a miracle of life and a life full of endless miracles. Jack Kornfield said, "Those who are awake live in a constant state of amazement." It's true. If you do things "in your sleep," you won't have your eyes, ears, and heart open. If you don't open your eyes, you won't see; if you don't open your ears, you won't listen; if you don't open your heart, you won't feel. If you aren't awake and alert, you won't see, listen, and feel the miracle that is today; you won't see the beauty that is you, others, and everything around you; you won't act from a perspective of those beauties; you won't feel how good and powerful it is to be alive; you won't understand and appreciate how extraordinary each day is; you won't understand how extraordinary each person is; you won't see the boundless potentials in each day and each person; you won't see, listen, and feel below the superficial and shallow surface to what really matters about things and people; you won't be able to imagine the amazing possibilities around and in you, as well as in others. And, if Kornfield wasn't talking about being in a classroom, as I am sure he specifically wasn't, I am. So, in the spirit of both him and Thurgood Marshall, higher education needs more teachers who are alive, who aren't just getting by. By that I mean teachers who are wide awake, peering through a human window into the classroom, looking at classroom caterpillars and seeing butterflies, understanding that educaton is made out of people, fueling a curiosity about each student, living mindfully of who is in the classroom with them, relating to students joyfully, opening themselves to even the smallest things, teaching engaged with other lives, delighting in the beauty that is the classroom, being nurturers, reminding themselves that it is good to be in a place filled with endless possibilities, going that sparsely populated extra mile, having a vision and living it, letting themselves be a conduit of learning's immense joy, being empathetic of the inner and outer battles we're all fighting, feeling empowered by an ability to make a difference, overwhelming the difficulties with unmatched joy, transforming obligations into opportunities for spectacular achievement, and knowing how good it feels to be in awe of each moment they're in and of each person they are with. Make it a good day -Louis- Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org<http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org/> Department of History http://www.therandomthoughts.com<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: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=17612 or send a blank email to leave-17612-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
