Someday, When You Understand Me Better

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Posted by on in children, Education, Inner Struggles, Spiritual

September 23, 2016, Prescott- 

My Christian friends,

who are convinced that my belief that all Faiths emanate from One God,

makes me an idolator, a Luciferian:

Someday, when you understand me better,

you will know the love I have for you,

for Jesus the Christ,

and for all who bring God’s Holy Word.

My fellow educators,

content in your small circles:

Someday, when you understand me better,

you will know the regard with which I look upon your work.

School administrators:

Someday, when you understand me better,

you will know that I AM dedicated to the well-being of children,

and recognize that I am not the enemy.

Word Press readers:

Someday, when you understand me better,

you will no longer disdain my spiritual writings,

and will realize that I am not out to “convert” anyone,

to my point of view.

The precious children,

who understand me better than do most adults,

already know these things.

They just know.

 

Equinox

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Posted by on in collaborating, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving

September 22, 2016, Prescott- 

The Moon keeps us on our toes.

Calendar dates change,

based on its phases,

year to year,

for equinoxes and solstices;

for Baha’i Holy Days;

for Ramadan and Eid;

for Lent and Easter;

for the Jewish High Holy Days

and Passover.

The hearts who celebrate

do not change,

with the phases of the Moon,

or even with the climate’s fickleness.

We remain connected,

even across thousands of miles

and hectares of fenced-in fields.

We remain unified,

soul to soul,

in the face of contrived divisions,

of walls which no one really wants.

Walls and fences,

that delude us.

The only real safety

lies in connection.

Blessed be Charlotte,

Tulsa, Milwaukee,

St. Louis, Manhattan,

Elizabeth, Seaside Park.

God, be watchful,

over Pakistan, Syria,

Afghanistan, Iraq,

Yemen, South Sudan.

Stay the hands of the dividers,

wherever they may be.

 

 

 

 

Need

15
Posted by on in children, Personal Values, Poetry, Social

September 20, 2016, Prescott-

The world is rife with givers and takers.

Most of us fall somewhere in between.

Where I was raised,

children are expected to need.

Adults are expected to stand tall

and provide.

There was a time, not long ago,

when my little family and I

were sorely in need.

Temporary help came,

and was repaid, in due time;

not quickly enough to suit some of my readers,

but fast enough for the creditor.

I have made a life’s work,

of providing for children and teens

in need of comfort and reassurance.

This continues,

and my little ones are secure,

in knowing they will not be left behind.

There are those who react to need,

with rage, coarse insults and threats

to life and limb.

Their way will not be ascendant,

for long,

if at all.

Love survives.

 

 

Ginger Rising

4
Posted by on in children, Community, Personal Values, Poetry, Social, Striving

September 19, 2016, Prescott-

The child had had enough.

He stood and told off a surreptitious bully,

who of course denied having said,

what I heard him say,

under his breath,

from across the room.

The intended target of abuse

does not have to suffer,

for the colour of his hair.

I think red, to be a fine hue

for a coiffure.

All colours of hair are good.

A certain public figure

voiced the opinion

that some, who hold views

contrary to hers,

are deplorable.

Have we not had enough

of tossing human beings

into one scrap heap,

or another.

Outmoded or disreputable viewpoints

can be deplorable.

People are not;

regardless of their opinions,

or their physical attributes,

or their life experiences.

People are worthy of being treated

with dignity,

even when they don’t carry themselves so.

Children are always worthy of dignity,

because they are still works in progress.

 

 

Charades and Illusions

6
Posted by on in Literary criticism, Personal goals, Personal Values, Striving

September 18, 2016, Prescott- Fall is coming.  Phoenix anticipates the last of its triple-digit days, for the year, will be this coming Wednesday.  That may, or may not, prove to be true.  We in Prescott have already had night temperatures below 40.

Fall was the season of my birth.  It is, thus, the main time of year that I take stock of who I am, as a human being, and what remains to be addressed, as I move further along, in the earthly classroom of living.

My parents were very much the voice of reason, and prepared each of us well, for the challenges they knew were going to throw themselves our way.  I was the one who had just a smidgen of faith in Deus ex maxina, supernatural rescuers and unicorns that one could ride to glory.  None of these ever got me anywhere. The rolled up sleeves, and willingness to watch, learn and work at least have enabled me to survive, to have had a loving marriage and to have raised a solid young man.

I did two things today, to give myself a push forward, in the reality department.  First, I moderated a faith meeting, helping to set short-term goals for our community.  Second, I called my satellite television provider, of 20 years, cancelled the service and boxed up the receiver and its accouterments. This last is an acknowledgement that a new television, right now, would be an extravagance, at a time when there are other priorities- such as exercise, service activities and my son’s preparation for a change of duty station.

Last night, I finished reading “One Hundred Years of Solitude”,  Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s tale of a family which wallowed in self-imposed isolation, incestuous relationships and delusions of grandeur.  It is  one of the most intense novels of the 20th Century, presenting a northeast Colombian town (fictional, of course), from the time of the country’s independence to the early twentieth century, in all its political acrimony and struggles to reconcile spiritual mythology and paranormal occurrences with the encroachment of international economics and trade.  No member of La Familia Buendia was ever really happy.

I thought of the illusions into which I bought, in my own life, and how much sweeter the ups and downs of reality have been for me, all through my married life and (for the most part) in the years since, than any of the flights of fancy that characterized my earlier years, or the brief periods, in 2011 and 2013, when I dealt with relapses into personal chaos.

So, on I will go, honouring my family, being present for those around me and building new friendships, both in real time and online.  Happy Autumn, one and all.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Nearly a year ago, north of Watson Lake, Prescott

 

 

 

Jealousy

4
Posted by on in children, Education

September 16, 2016, Prescott- 

One child, jealous of another getting the attention

that he, himself, had been getting,

just two minutes before,

took off his shoe and tossed it,

in an arc, towards an empty space,

in the back of the room.

He then flung his food bag,

towards yet another child.

The student who was the focus of teacher’s attention

deflected the bag, away from student # 3,

and no harm was done.

Child doing the throwing

now faces a weekend

of confinement to his room.

There is no daylight,

home and school are tight.

Guardian

2
Posted by on in Poetry, Social

September 14, 2016, Prescott- 

Practicing defensive stances

guaranteed to put a raging child

in a place safe from harm to self and others.

Use these techniques properly,

I am told, and the child will

feel stability.

I will guard their precious souls

with my own life, if necessary.

There is a fine line, though,

between security and retaliation.

Let no one cross that line,

lest they deal with me.

“No child thrown under the bus”

has been my oath,

for years upon years.

Thanks, “Handle With Care, Inc.”

for the training today.

Different Strokes

12
Posted by on in Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Striving

September 13, 2016, Prescott- 

Today,I heard that someone who takes issue with my facilitating style will absent herself from the Wednesday group.  At work, I find it best to treat a couple of colleagues with kid gloves- and to keep my distance from one, in particular, unless it’s absolutely necessary to consult.

Not everyone is going to respond positively, to any one of us, at any given time.  The best course of action, for me, has always been to keep an open mind and heart, while giving  hateful people a wide berth.  By “hateful”, I do NOT mean critical.  God knows, I have learned much from those with differing perspectives.  Those who don’t have my well-being at heart, though, are best avoided.

Sooner or later, though, the human race will learn that every person has some value.  I will have more to say, on other subjects, tomorrow.  Now, though, I’m tired of the struggle and will say “Goodnight, all.”

Ongoing

6
Posted by on in Education, Family, Inner Struggles, Poetry, Social, Striving

September 12, 2016, Prescott-

Meetings tire me,

more than the antics of children.

So, as I sat through the proceedings

in a stuffy second-floor room,

I took in all I needed,

through careful listening.

Then came afternoon.

Cool outside,

stale and debilitating, within.

My thoughts wandered

to the school district clerks,

who will occupy these rooms,

after a renovation next year.

The process is ongoing.

I had a nice time,

at a birthday party last night.

It was a good transition,

from the dark memories of

that day, fifteen years ago.

New friends, and old,

drummed, sang and ate

delectable barbecued meats

and all manner of side dishes.

Friendship and camaraderie are ongoing.

Today is my brother’s birthday.

Far off, in Atlanta, or

somewhere else on business,

he keeps setting the bar high

and setting his employees straight.

Communication is ongoing.