The quietest morning of the year,
humanity lying asleep, recovering from a night of merriment or misery,
dreaming of the past and possible futures.
Finally submitting to the forces of nature and allowing rest,
excited or maybe afraid for the new year to come.
Yet the outgoing tide of 2019
and the incoming of 2020
has cleared the beach giving us a new canvas.
No feet, small or great, wise or foolish have ever walked this way before;
we are the first.
What lead will we give?
What footsteps will we impress in the untouched sand?
When you look back after 366 days of walking,
what do you want to see imprinted in the sand behind you?
Another year has come and gone, the beginning taking us faithfully to the end.
Life is cyclical, a repetitive replaying spring, summer, autumn, winter.
Yet if I look closely, feel deeply, if I stop to ponder;
I realise that there are layers of growth and truth to be celebrated.
Life is not simply circumference of year piled on circumference of year,
but a journey closer to God, deeper into wisdom,
understanding your unique contribution.
Don't get buffeted by dates and times ...
consider slowly and carefully whichever way you choose
up or down left or right and enjoy your present,
knowing that this is not where you will remain forever.
A favourite past-time
for rekindling passion and energy
in peace and solitude
stretched out on a soft bed,
fan spinning on hot days,
or, curled up cosily like a squirrel
beneath a duvet, when the weather is crisp,
almost purring, contentedly like a cat in its best loved spot.
I am like warm wax emblazoned with the master's seal.
This coming of four decades has caused a shifting in my soul;
a clicking into place, like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle being pushed down;
I am like one , previously unable to see over a wall,
now given a ladder to peer into lands beyond.
I have a deep sense of being perfectly placed in my family of five,
husband, wife and three lovely daughters,
abundant extravagance of blessedness as our souls grow together
bringing a deep peace and contentment,
like calm, flowing mountain streams.
I look forward to going, as the water does, on new journeys
forging a future that will bring life and refreshing to others.
So many mornings I've sat
contemplating the day
seeking strength and courage for then new challenges.
Dreaming ... questioning ... enduring, now finishing.
Walking in with ambition and expectations,
believing I held a bunch of magical keys that could unlock
long closed doors.
Now, I'm walking out, some doors are opened, some keys passed on,
the rest laying waiting for the next dreamer to pick up.
I know that the time is right, yet I cannot help but wonder
what the outcome could have been if egos could have altered,
shifted an iota to make space for the new.
If light isn't let in new seedlings cannot flourish,
they either die or get transplanted.
But my heart is full, I have no regrets.
I am braver, stronger, wiser from this chapter in my journey.
Desiderata.
diagonal droplets fall on parched, bare ground
baked and burnt by months of relentless african sun.
The earth drinks the life-giving water
as cooling molecules caress its dehydrated surface,
causing joy to bubble from deep within each grateful soul.
The relief is tangible, the smell intoxicating ...
indescribably delicious
perfume of God.
We are not forgotten.
My middle daughter, 11 years old, gave me this note the other day, it’s simplicity stuck with me… “have a good time every day…” Was that how I lived my life … did I have a good time every WORK day?
As teachers, it can be so easy to lose our JOY, to forget why we chose to be educators . After five or so years we often get to the place where we forget that we have an awesome privilege to mould and guide and inspire the next generation …our joy gets buried beneath piles of papers to grade, exams to set, worksheets to make, stencils to draw, bits and bobs to cut out and laminate. Not forgetting the compulsory afternoon sport or club sessions that we have to do at least two of every week … late nights … early mornings … day on day on day on …..and then throw in living in Zimbabwe – which is something only people living in Zimbabwe can fully comprehend, because to the rest of the world our life stories sound improbable and totally dysfunctional. So … how do we get our JOY back. We need our joy – it is a powerful card to play. It is our ACE of spades that beats all that life can throw at us.
Firstly, we need to believe that JOY is allowable and that JOY is powerful and that JOY is not a luxury, it is a necessary part of our humanness. Look at children, how easily they fall into JOY, how they view the world with energy and wonder…. yet somehow along the way, life’s, norming and conforming steals our joy and we are left as practical, hard-working joy-less adults. We fear that if we show too much JOY we will appear frivolous and childish … so we squash it down and pursue worthier qualities.
So … how can we begin to get our JOY back? Research is proving , “JOY can help our bodies recover from the physiological effects of stress, and they can help us find meaning and purpose in tragic events. Rather than being a distraction, when we allow ourselves a moment of JOY, it creates a respite that makes us more resilient. And the same is true of our relationships. Celebrating small JOYs with others deepens our bonds and increases our sense of trust that we’ll be there for each other when things go wrong.” (aspenideas.org)
” A couple of months ago, I spoke about SMORS – Small Moments Of Reflection…
Today our new acronym is SMOJO – Small Moments Of JOy. Right now, look around and become aware of anything in your immediate environment that brings you joy. It could be the hat, the newspaper seller is wearing .. it could be the incredible red and green Christmas Contrast of the beautiful Flamboyant trees. It could be an ice- lolly or a frozen freezit (penny cool) – you see – you are already saying … Adults don’t enjoy freezits … and have you ever tried a frozen banana? – go on – pop it into your freezer – skin and all and retrieve it the next day … Dee licious!! (cut off the skin before eating it of course).
Tomorrow, when you arrive at work, or better still, on your way to work, look for these SMOJOs … allow the wonder and innocence to bubble up into JOY and begin to enJOY the small stuff … and once you start looking you will be amazed at how much JOY can be found in one single day.
purple ponies,
iced cupcakes,
hair ribbons,
girlie,
dreamy,
pretty,
but
this purple,
is purple on another level .
It is purple that proclaims
hope
purple that causes us to pause in wonder;
our adult brains questioning the possibility of a whole purple foliage.
Purple blossoms
arresting my attention
transporting me from my rat race
inspiring poetry
reminding me that in each of us there is a touch of divine royalty
if only I pause long enough to recall this .
a reminder of freedom a celebration of transformation ... Once tiny larva beneath the surface of the pond, yet, following intrinsic design, one day, they venture up the pond rush stalks and await transformation ... they don't fully understand the process but obey the inner pull - here- the Great Creator Metamorphoses them into F R E E D O M
I had just had tea with a friend, we were talking about teaching and for the first time ever, I told someone of my dislike of Sundays … I wrote this
“I fear the the return to routine, to demands, to clocks, bells, schedules. These school rituals feel even more restraining against the contrast of an afternoon and a day passed with freedom of choice and time to go slowly. Sunday, no matter how beautifully spent, cannot last forever … tomorrow must come.
I should not live with fear of fatigue. I should not feel I am returning to meaningless monotony, daily drudgery. I should not feel that I have no choice, that I have no control. After all, I am an adult. Then why do I have the same feeling that so many children feel about going back to school on Monday, after a lovely weekend?”
Sometimes the Sunday sadness was caused, because of unfulfilled expectations, a to do list that was not even started. Groceries, laundry, not to mention the pile of books that is still sitting in my car boot and that research that I had wanted to do that would make me a better equipped teacher … and I had really wanted to make that batch of breakfast bars so I could have a healthier start to the day.
Just naming my fear, was the beginning of my overcoming my sad Sunday feelings. My friend encouraged me to make time every Sunday to do something just for myself. To mentally and emotionally reinforce the fact that I was in control of my life. That my chosen career was not a death sentence and that I could ditch that back to school feeling.
I’m pleased to say that it has worked. Sometimes I go for a jog, sometimes I bake, sometimes I blog, sometimes I sit in my garden and drink tea with my family. I accept that I can’t do everything so I choose what I can do and accept that the rest is for another day.
Now I try to do my Laundry on a weekday or at the very latest on Saturday. I try not to bring school work home, and rather push myself just a little bit harder during the week to get my jobs done. I accept that I am enough and that I can’t do everything, and that by just investing in me I am becoming a better teacher.
ThriveZim Education 