Dear Teachers

Week 16 of  Dear Teachers  finds us right before Christmas. I knew it was a risk to add springtime pictures during this time of the year, but I’m glad I did. There’s a joy in the air- if we can remember it and push it into 2018, we’ll benefit. I’m not talking about a fake cheerfulness. I’m talking honest joy. The Shakespeare quote I used from Romeo and Juliet embodies this. I’m talking about the full fire that is the Sun in our Hearts.  I found this Mae West quote on Twitter this week, and I think it’s another powerful reminder of this idea. If we live once and do it well, it should be enough. I love the skiing graphic, as well. We’re all flying down a hill. Are we at least trying to cut the edges of our skis into the snow, or are we gracelessly sliding down the slope on our butts, in silent terror? What do we want to embrace today and into tomorrow? Are our days leading us to that picture or not? Are we feeling some concerns or regrets? The only t...

Just because things are quiet, doesn’t mean all is well. Outwardly, we may project an image that says all is right in our world. Sometimes, we feel the need to do this as a way to get through difficult times. When it becomes our standard, we fall farther and farther away from our truth selves. Our family, friends and coworkers can think we’re fine, but there’s conflict roiling on the inside, threatening to tear us apart. We will break if we lose hope and a sense of controlling our fate. That will negatively affect us and all whose lives we touch. The Jane Austen quote I used this week speaks of a defiant quiet. The character, Fanny Price, sees and understands her reality and is not happy with the situation. That’s a different quiet. When we let go of the outside stuff, we can feel our centers. It’s just us. What is that? Who is that? Are our days filled with our passions or just filled? We can look at it all with a bit of objectivity. That’s the quiet depicted in...

We’re now in the last month of the year and onto a new focus! We’ve covered important ground so far. The importance of the people in our lives, both ourselves and all the coworkers, family, friends, students, parents and overall communities we live in. We’ve touched on the nature of struggles in our days: feelings of darkness, loneliness, and things that chill our bodies, minds and spirits. December is all about remembering life’s positive foundations. Week 14 is a reminder that things can be tough, but with hope things can change and faith that they will, we can thrive. Marlene captured the water droplets from melting ice falling and plopping into a running river. There’s a shelf of hard ice hanging on but one gets the sense that its time is limited: the flow and sun’s rays will soon see its demise. The water’s rippling surface reminds us that life is always moving. Everything’s dancing. If we can remember that and believe, we can see the sun again even if today it’s beh...