In her poem, The Summer Day, Mary Oliver asks,
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
Well?
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Mindfulness as a Way of Life… Not Only When Being Mindful
Are you one of the mindful people? I am. Well, I try to be. I love the ideas of presence and breathing and noticing and all those mindful things. I know the best relaxation techniques; I use them personally and with my students. I take time to notice those around me and the sensations within me. Breathe. Be present.
But what about the rest of the day? If we can take 10 minutes to be mindful on purpose that is good. How, though, can we keep mindfulness going as a way of life?
To begin with let’s stop being busy. Some folks wear busyness as a badge of honor. They don’t have time and can’t make time. They fill their schedules and their children’s schedules with so much to do that there is no time to be bored. I loved being bored as a kid- that’s when I was at my most creative, much to the chagrin of my parents. We dug holes and drilled holes and played Evel Kenievel. “Go outside and play” was never a punishment but a liberation: discover, wonder, create, and sometimes get in trouble. How often do you go out and play, whatever that means for you now, with no plan nor agenda?
Then, let’s be aware of our screens. How many screens do you have that keep you busy? Computer? Tablet? Phone? Kindle? Which Joneses do you feel a need to keep up with? The news? A TV show? Facebook? Instagram? Twitter? How much time does that leave for friends and family face-to-face? In my case, not enough. So, I am mindful of my screen time and am trying to reduce it. It is hard, though, when the emails come at all hours and a friend is posting photos on Instagram of his new house in a new country. With email at work I try not to send email from home or on weekends. I cannot be present nor help others be present when I interrupt them with things that can wait. Perhaps we can agree to fewer emails after hours and more face-to-face during hours.
Finally, let’s focus. We know that multi-tasking is a myth yet we still try to do too much (if you are always busy you might be trying to do too much). A Jack of all trades is a master of none. Businesses speak of core competencies: what are the main products and services of your business? If you try to do too many things you may do none well. The core competency of schools is education. Is your school doing too many other activities? How many of them can be done by parents and members of the community so that teachers can focus on the education of the students? Bringing in the wider community brings people together and actually builds community because it does take a village.
Let’s be mindful of how we live life: We only get one chance at today. Name your priorities and live them knowing it is okay to say no. Build community and make time. Me? I’m gonna go out and play and breathe and notice.
Ask the Question
___Ask the
Question. Not the
I got you
Question nor the
I’m smarter than you
Question. Ask the
Tell me who you are today?
Question. Ask the
What’s difficult?
What’s the best, most interesting?
What’s surprised you?
Question. Ask the
Tell me more about…
Question. Not the judge, jury nor executioner
Question but the
___build community and understanding
Question.
Answers are not lions (but may be thorns).
Answers are doors.
___Share your
Answers. Then ask another
Question.
She Was Love
She was love
and she was loved.
Some people represent home
that feeling of welcome
the warm embrace
whenever
wherever
She was one of those people who
don’t have to do or
create or
cook or
go out
or… or… or
Just be
Just be love
radiate love
Laugh heartily
In conversation
Share the stories
Call you out
And in
In all of your OK-ness
just as you are
as she is
So it is
So she will be missed
Middle School Writing Lab
As we work to systematize the writing work we do in Middle School, we decided to start a new website: Middle School Writing Lab. It will be a constant work in progress (and it was only started last Thursday so, keep that in mind). I hope to include in each section:
- How-To/ Explanation
- Examples
- Rubric
- Word Bank
I am looking for that sweet spot between “formula” and “stream of consciousness.” I want writers to use their personal voice while accomplishing the task at hand. If you have any amazing resources please send them my way. Let’s Write!
Fidget Spinner
A broken skateboard on the ground
was days-old trash until I found
some greased ball bearings deep within.
Thought I’d take ‘em for a spin.
I grabbed a vice grip and a pliers
and pulled apart the useless tires.
When I got the needed part
was when my project I could start.
My sister drinks a lot of juice-
her bottle caps I put to use.
In three red caps I placed a dime
and filled with clay to save some time.
The fourth red cap- I had to cut
away the top and leave a rut
around the middle without tearing
the place I’d put the greased ball bearing.
But still my project wasn’t done
I went to get my grandma’s gun
(a gun for glue, so don’t you worry).
I pegged the pieces without hurry.
So now the part I really hate
the glue sets slow so I must wait.
My patience pays off in the end.
Participating in the trend
I rush to show it to a friend.
He laughs and asks what did I spend?
“Designed and built with nothing new!”
He pauses, asks, “Can I …
… build one too?”
Is it Getting Warmer?
Did you ever notice that houses and factories have chimneys that carry the smoke, the exhaust, the fumes up and away from people? I noticed the same thing about cars- no company makes a car with an exhaust system that brings exhaust into the car. We do these things because no one wants to breathe in the toxins that are created by combustion and burning. We know that toxins are poisonous, well, by definition. Can we agree to this?
If that is the case, that the toxins that are created by combustion and burning are poisonous, then what if there were a way to avoid the toxins? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone to not create the toxins? There is! There are ways to create energy that do not pollute and those ways are becoming cheaper and cheaper through economies of scale. There are now more people employed in solar energy than in oil, coal and gas.
We also know that not all resources are renewable; someday oil, coal and gas will run out. If we are smart enough to prepare for a winter storm or a hurricane, we are also smart enough to prepare for a world without fossil fuels.
Maybe you do not believe that the earth is warming or maybe you believe that the earth is warming but that it isn’t caused by human activity. (My reading and my personal experience tells me that the earth is warming and it makes sense to me that 7 billion people could be contributing to it.) Either way, if we don’t want poison in our houses or our cars let’s not put it into the air. If we know that fossil fuels will run out, then let’s get ready for what is next. There is no reason not to.
Resurrection
A few days ago I received a phone call from a friend of mine. He had recently learned that he and his mother will receive their social security cards and residency papers. They will be able to stay in the United States. Wonderful! We are lucky to have them- good, caring people; hard working people. Gentle.
This family was forced from their home country by negative situations beyond their control. They moved to the US only to live in the shadows, experiencing violence both personal and systemic. When you live in the shadows you cannot fully participate and share your gifts. You live in fear – fear that you will be sent back, you might lose your job and a thousand other fears. Those fears, though, are nothing when compared to the lived experience that sent you away from home.
Now there is hope. There is hope of permanence and pertenencia, belonging. Having grown up in the only city he has ever known, he will now be able to participate fully in all of the rights and responsibilities of belonging. Moving out of the shadows. May we hear the same positive news for many other immigrants so that they, too, may move out of the shadows.
This blog was started about 5 years ago as an Advent gift for a 12 year old. The waiting of Advent has come full circle to an emerging from the shadows: Resurrection.
You always belonged. Now it’s official.
Pizza Dough
Here is the mix I use…
| ½ Recipe | Full Recipe | Double | |
| Warm Water | ¾ cup | 1½ cups | 2¼ cups |
| Yeast | 1 package | 2 packages | 3 packages |
| Sugar | 1t | 2t | 3t |
| Salt | ¾t | 1½t | 2¼t |
| Olive Oil | 3T | 6 T | ½ cup + 1T |
| Flour | 2 cups | 4 cups | 6 cups |
Mix everything except the flour and let the yeast mixture become foamy for about 5 or 10 minutes. Then, add the flour until it is no longer sticky; knead for 5- 10 minutes; you may need a bit more or a bit less flour. Let it rise until doubled (about an hour, depending on how warm your kitchen is), punch it down and it is ready to use. I won’t explain how to use it. If you would like more information please let me know.
By the way, 1 package of yeast = 2 rounded teaspoons (a bit fuller than full).
Let me know how it works.
Social Currency
She listened carefully, watching his face, watching his lips. When he finished speaking, her eyes looked up and to the left, thinking. Remembering. Nodding.
Her eyes, then, returned to her 61 year old son. “So your patient wants you to travel with him to Houston,” she paraphrased. “That’s wonderful! He must respect you and trust you… and have a lot of money!”
“Mamá, he wants someone to accompany him and yes, he trusts me. I worked with him and his wife when she was sick. But we can’t do the type of surgery that he needs.”
“I see.” She paused again.
“Impressive.” She nodded again.
“How much will you charge?” she asked, looking him right in the eyes.
“Oh mother! I don’t know. I have never been asked to do something like this before.” He took a sip of coffee.
The answer didn’t matter and she knew he wouldn’t say… but maybe he would. No harm in asking.
The conversation went silent for a bit. Then she turned to me and said, “And you just returned from that overseas training your company sent you to. How did that go? They must think the world of you, sending you off to a training in another country! They wouldn’t send just anyone, now then, would they?” She looked up again, not waiting for an answer.
Then I understood. I could see it in her eyes. This conversation was not about accomplishment or money, per se; this was about social currency. Later in the evening she would go on her evening constitutional to the casino. Some people find community at church or with their neighbors. Some go to a bar where everybody knows your name. She goes to the casino, every night if someone will take her; she can no longer go out alone with that bum leg of hers
Yes, I understood: When she gets to the casino she will slowly find her favorite machine, talking to friends and relatives amid the rings, dings and bings of the one-armed bandits (that mostly worked with the press of a finger). With her cane and her attendant she will stop and talk to everyone she knows, perhaps someone new. What will she say? Not much has happened since yesterday evening. She spent the day with meals, the newspaper and Netflix so what will she add to the conversation?
“How are you tonight?” Someone will ask as she walks the aisles looking for her machine.
Putting her hand on the other’s arm she will take out some of that social currency and say, “I am good. You’ll never guess where my son is going to go…”
By the end of the evening she will have talked to many who passed by to share their stories. She will listen carefully while watching their faces and lips. She will ask questions, thinking, remembering and nodding as they speak. Tomorrow, we will be brought up to date on the members of that community. We will ask questions that she will be sure to get the answers to as the carousel takes another spin.
S. T. Fleming 