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Inspired by the Velveteen Rabbit…How Teachers Become Real.
The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.
“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
“I suppose you are real?” said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive.
But the Skin Horse only smiled
– From the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams –
Peace On Earth Puzzle
As Earth Day approaches this year, I am struck by what it means to truly foster Peace on this planet. I remember as a child, learning about anti-nuclear protestors who chained themselves to fences and were forcibly removed and jailed. These brave souls became my heroines and heroes in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. I was moved to tears singing Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” and hearing stories of civil disobedience and the message of non-violent resistance. Later in the 1990’s, when I danced barefoot on my very first Earth Day, a lump would form in my throat when I celebrated each small victory (and the Gigantic Hearts) of environmental protestors who sacrificed so much to save a single tree and worked to preserve open space for our children’s children. Peace.Grounded at the skate park…and I’m seven!
Last week my seven year old son participated in a Grounded Quest for Elevation Yoga camp and was asked to contribute a blog post on how Grounded has changed his approach to situations….here it is…in his own words…
Harry Potter – Seven Books…Seven Chakras
The Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling has many meanings. I have found the meaning to be Love Conquers All But as you look more closely at the interworkings of her books you figure out that each book represents a different Chakra. Chakras are energy centers located along the midline of the body.
Moving on….
Our children have an opinion and I feel it is important for them to be heard. In my classes I welcome discussion and I let my students know that their opinions matter. Yesterday’s classes were magically healing. My Thursday morning class at LEAD Homeschool in Avondale Estates started off the day with heart opening poses…
Dr. Suetra presents: Yoga Sutra of Patanjali 1.2 yogah citta vritti nirodhah
Yoga is the stilling
of the changing states of mind~
The act and policy of
No chitta* left behind.
Yoga is the re-channeling
of habits of the mind~
Capacity for Contentment grows
And Vrittis* get declined.
Yoga is the resolution of
the agitations of the mind.
A uniting of consciousness in the
heart of all mankind.
Yoga is the settling of themind into silence.
Nirodha* the misconceptions,
And ignorant defiance.
Yoga is the deepness
In the lake of tranquility~
Out of the surface ripples~
And into heart’s reality.
Yoga is a gentle
Process of release~
A settling into the
Natural state of peace.
Each inhale think calm~Each exhale think peace.
Favor these words~
Your distractions will decrease~
As Earth Day approaches this year, I am struck by what it means to truly foster Peace on this planet. I remember as a child, learning about anti-nuclear protestors who chained themselves to fences and were forcibly removed and jailed. These brave souls became my heroines and heroes in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. I was moved to tears singing Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” and hearing stories of civil disobedience and the message of non-violent resistance. Later in the 1990’s, when I danced barefoot on my very first Earth Day, a lump would form in my throat when I celebrated each small victory (and the Gigantic Hearts) of environmental protestors who sacrificed so much to save a single tree and worked to preserve open space for our children’s children. Peace.
