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Today's
Meditation:
I hear this idea often in different words from different
people, and they always strike an important chord.
They always force me to stop for a moment and simply
realize that I am on a journey, so that I can then ask
myself whether I'm doing anything it ensure that I'm
making the most out of the journey, or if I'm so focused
on doing that I'm not able to enjoy.
If I'm on a train, do I look out the window and enjoy the
view, or strike up a conversation with the person next to
me to learn something about another person? Or do I
keep my eyes buried in a newspaper or continue doing work
that could be done at another time? Am I enjoying
the trip and making the most of it, or am I getting caught
up in the minutiae of planning for the next leg of the
trip, and therefore neglecting this leg?
One of the things that I like about being a teacher is
that there really is no system of promotions. If I
really wanted to, I could earn more pay as an
administrator, but that isn't a necessary step at
all. This lack of needing to try for a promotion
helps me to stay focused on the day-to-day reality of my
classroom, and I really love that. It doesn't make
me lazy at all-- I've earned four graduate degrees-- and it
does keep me from thinking too much about what I need to
do to get promoted (an end), and allows me to stay present
with my students and the work that we're doing (the
journey). (Of course, the standardized testing
element sabotages this situation, but that's a different
story!)
Right now, at this moment, you're on a journey. Your
life is filled with beautiful scenery, cool people, rude
people, obstacles, rewards, new experiences, and chances
to re-address older experiences. What are you doing
to make sure that when you do reach your goal or aim or
end, you'll look back and say, "Boy, what a wonderful
journey that was!"?
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