Did you know that the downy flower that a dandelion produces is called a clock?
Everyday I am introduced to some new realm of human understanding. Students, fellow teachers, random faces on the street all have something to teach me. Sometimes my mind is wide open to all that is presented. Other times I fumble and mangle the beauty that others present to me. I leave the world bruised on those days. What can we do to keep the portal of receptiveness open? I try to not allow the sway and pitch of politics, stereotype, misconception, fallacy, or blindness cloud my thoughts. It is inevitable that something works its way to block what I am trying to perceive, giving me only an impression of some idea or thought that can give me some new vision or angle to view life.
When the wind blows, the clock is scattered leaving tiny seeds to begin anew.
Did you know that a blackberry is not the fruit--it's a collection of drupelets. That's the fruit. Love the word "drupelets," by the way.
ReplyDeleteLove the image of the wind dispersing the clock. It's hopeful, as it should be.
We--Casey, Thomas, Melissa, Sara--have been reading Margaret Wheatley's book Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope. Great book. http://www.turningtooneanother.net/
I think the basis of it is how to stay open to each other. How to really listen. We all have a lot to offer each other, but we're busy and we don't REALLY listen. I like her idea that we can't automatically disagree. Instead, we need to really listen and try to find the part of what someone says that we might be able to connect with in some way.
That ideas has changed me. I'm pretty quick to move on to the next idea or to argue. I try not to be that way anymore.