“Stay focused girls. Picture the feather head dress and beautiful costume. You have big eyelashes, your make up is glowing and your hair is shining in the stage lighting. You are in perfect unison with the dancers around you. You are unique and gorgeous, but working together harmoniously as if you were one. Now, transcend beyond your outer beauty to the core of who you are. Stay focused! Channel your inner Rockette, girls! See her in all her glory. Now step into her shoes and BE HER!”
Five girls and I partook in this spontaneous meditation during tap class today. I am coaching a very talented group of dancers between the ages of 10 and 14 and we are learning a classic tap number set to “Let’s Misbehave.” Technically, they were getting it, but they weren’t GETTING IT! They needed a strong vision of what was possible in order to take it to the next level.
The three pound gelatinous mass that crowns our being is a very powerful and underutilized asset. What we create in our mind is not trivial. It forms the very foundation of our lives. Never underestimate the power of visualization.
The girls’ performance after this visualization showed a marked improvement over their prior performance. During class today, these girls needed an introduction to their inner Rockettes. I think we all do, ladies. That powerful Goddess inside can “rock the room” in any situation. As mom’s we are pulled in so many directions and we cater to the needs of others so willingly, it’s easy to lose sight of her. Her image grows dim and that is reflected in our appearance.
In your daily health and beauty routine, are you going through the motions, or are really connecting with your higher self? She’s in there. I swear she is. She’s a reflection of who you can be when you believe in, respect and honor yourself as the Goddess you are. But you need to take some time to SEE her. We’ve all had those moments (or maybe even days, or years) in which our higher self is with us in full force. She’s a powerful force. And suddenly, we lose her. Well, I miss my inner Rockette. I am filing a missing person’s report and sending out a search and rescue team to find her.
I am convinced, with meditation and visualization, and a commitment of just a little time per day, we can find her again, and transform ourselves, inside and out. I know this to be true, because I had a profound experience with this during my milestone year, 40--that dreaded birthday in which we suddenly define ourselves as “old.” Well, as Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “we can’t let an old person get into our bodies”. They take up residence and start leaving their stuff everywhere.
Tap class today was a strong “kick in the pants” for me about our influence as mothers. Self image is fragile and dangerous territory for our daughters. I see no reason why they can’t begin practicing self image meditation while they are young. If they have a strong connection with their inner goddess, they’ll be less likely to lose touch with her later in life. (That’s my theory, anyway, and I’m sticking to it). So ladies, don’t forget that you MUST see more that what stares back at you in the mirror. In your mind, you can give yourself the same advantages that top models and actresses have—a beautiful setting, perfect lighting, hair and makeup, a gorgeous (to die for costume) a softening filter if you are over 30, and incredible music to elevate your mood. Don’t forget airbrushing and cropping.
The visual images you can create in your mind are as powerful as the images you see in real life. It just takes a few moments a day. And before you know it, that vision you create in your mind of the goddess you are, will be staring back at you in the mirror!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
To channel your inner Rockette and find the goddess within, I highly recommend the guided meditations of Tricia Brennan. http://www.triciabrennan.com/. Look specifically at Body Transformation for this topic, but all her products are wonderfully enlightening.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
The Sixth Thing I Love About Home School--Even the Teacher Gets a Final Exam.
Some of you who are following my blog might know that I am developing a leadership program for children. My laboratory is our home school and my children are the lab rats. This week we finished our “first unit” of study in Leadership. Even though I regularly test “my rats” to measure their progress, I decided that a “final exam” was unnecessary since leadership skills are best developed and tested in real life.
But, today I was presented with a “final exam” of my own when I encountered a situation that challenged me to “practice what I preach.” The situation was a direct result of my entre’ into the dangerous and scary world of “political blogging”. I don’t go there very often since my focus right now is decidedly “spiritual and documentary”. But the contents of Obama’s first congressional address left me feeling compelled to comment. Upon completing my final spell check, I broadcast my “polito-blog” into the cyber universe in a big way—to 45,000 unsuspecting members of cafemom.com.
I quickly discovered that “political blogging” attracts a variety of moms, desirable and not so. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. In fact, I suspected that I might be in the minority on the topic I selected. I learned that the internet can have the same effect on people as drinking too many margaritas at Marti Gras. Folks lose their inhibitions, their manners and their sense of decency. One response really sent me into a funk, and I harbored negativity for a full hour before I regained control of my emotions.
To clear my head, I took my morning walk and it suddenly it hit me—I had it all wrong! This virtual stranger who had so voraciously attacked me was in fact, just testing me. My “final exam” was neatly packaged in her five paragraph response, and it was up to me to step up and take it. This test forced me to utilize and master each of the five topics we have studied to date:
Lesson 1: When You Rule Your Mind, You Rule Your World!
“How can I craft my verbal retaliation?” was the first question that popped into my head. Since we create our reality with our focus, the questions we ask ourselves are critical. Mine was leading me quickly down the wrong path. To ameliorate my thinking, I crafted a better question. “How can this help me?” This answer put me in a position of power instead of a place of negativity and anger.
Lesson 2: Without Vision, the People Perish.
No amount of words on a page would change her point of view. I needed to remain focused on my own long term vision to find the appropriate response to the situation. Verbal sparring wasn’t the answer. But searching for meaning was. It didn’t take long to find it.
Lesson 3: Love Can Endure the Fault We Cannot Cure.
My natural response was to put on the gloves and come out fighting. I think this is often what we do when we find ourselves on opposite sides of an issue. But when I thought of Lesson 3, it was simple. I couldn’t cure her faults and she couldn’t cure mine. The best resolution we could hope for was to agree to disagree. I put myself into a state of “unconditional love” and crafted a simple, gracious response.
Lesson 4: There are More Possibilities in the Universe than One Can Possibly Imagine.
This became crystal clear as I read her answer. I hadn’t imagined a point of view such as hers, (but I stoop to sarcasm). The real lesson for me was that it is essential to explore the possibilities before responding if you want to create a positive outcome. We always have more than one choice, even when we think we don’t. When dealing with a challenging situation, we must call upon all our internal and external resources to create many options so we can produce positive outcomes and improve our lives.
Lesson 5: As You Give, So Shall You Receive.
My opponent’s opinion was 100% different than mine but that wasn’t the issue. Instead of presenting her point of view in a positive manner, she opted to respond with personal insults and bad language. She intentionally chose her response, and it was incumbent upon me to choose mine. My initial inclination was to unleash upon her with equal vengeance. As you give, so shall you receive. But thankfully, my higher self suggested I think about it and respond with love. I don’t know how it was received on her end. I am guessing it neutralized the situation. Regardless, I know that I did my part to break the cycle of negativity.
In 5 or 10 years, it will be interesting to observe what my children retain from this leadership encounter. As a teacher, I was extremely grateful to have a test of my own. I just hope I passed!
But, today I was presented with a “final exam” of my own when I encountered a situation that challenged me to “practice what I preach.” The situation was a direct result of my entre’ into the dangerous and scary world of “political blogging”. I don’t go there very often since my focus right now is decidedly “spiritual and documentary”. But the contents of Obama’s first congressional address left me feeling compelled to comment. Upon completing my final spell check, I broadcast my “polito-blog” into the cyber universe in a big way—to 45,000 unsuspecting members of cafemom.com.
I quickly discovered that “political blogging” attracts a variety of moms, desirable and not so. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. In fact, I suspected that I might be in the minority on the topic I selected. I learned that the internet can have the same effect on people as drinking too many margaritas at Marti Gras. Folks lose their inhibitions, their manners and their sense of decency. One response really sent me into a funk, and I harbored negativity for a full hour before I regained control of my emotions.
To clear my head, I took my morning walk and it suddenly it hit me—I had it all wrong! This virtual stranger who had so voraciously attacked me was in fact, just testing me. My “final exam” was neatly packaged in her five paragraph response, and it was up to me to step up and take it. This test forced me to utilize and master each of the five topics we have studied to date:
Lesson 1: When You Rule Your Mind, You Rule Your World!
“How can I craft my verbal retaliation?” was the first question that popped into my head. Since we create our reality with our focus, the questions we ask ourselves are critical. Mine was leading me quickly down the wrong path. To ameliorate my thinking, I crafted a better question. “How can this help me?” This answer put me in a position of power instead of a place of negativity and anger.
Lesson 2: Without Vision, the People Perish.
No amount of words on a page would change her point of view. I needed to remain focused on my own long term vision to find the appropriate response to the situation. Verbal sparring wasn’t the answer. But searching for meaning was. It didn’t take long to find it.
Lesson 3: Love Can Endure the Fault We Cannot Cure.
My natural response was to put on the gloves and come out fighting. I think this is often what we do when we find ourselves on opposite sides of an issue. But when I thought of Lesson 3, it was simple. I couldn’t cure her faults and she couldn’t cure mine. The best resolution we could hope for was to agree to disagree. I put myself into a state of “unconditional love” and crafted a simple, gracious response.
Lesson 4: There are More Possibilities in the Universe than One Can Possibly Imagine.
This became crystal clear as I read her answer. I hadn’t imagined a point of view such as hers, (but I stoop to sarcasm). The real lesson for me was that it is essential to explore the possibilities before responding if you want to create a positive outcome. We always have more than one choice, even when we think we don’t. When dealing with a challenging situation, we must call upon all our internal and external resources to create many options so we can produce positive outcomes and improve our lives.
Lesson 5: As You Give, So Shall You Receive.
My opponent’s opinion was 100% different than mine but that wasn’t the issue. Instead of presenting her point of view in a positive manner, she opted to respond with personal insults and bad language. She intentionally chose her response, and it was incumbent upon me to choose mine. My initial inclination was to unleash upon her with equal vengeance. As you give, so shall you receive. But thankfully, my higher self suggested I think about it and respond with love. I don’t know how it was received on her end. I am guessing it neutralized the situation. Regardless, I know that I did my part to break the cycle of negativity.
In 5 or 10 years, it will be interesting to observe what my children retain from this leadership encounter. As a teacher, I was extremely grateful to have a test of my own. I just hope I passed!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
(Still on Giving)… Lord Send me a Sign that I am making some progress!
My kids and I are wrapping up Unit 1 in our Leadership program although I am going to spend one more week on “giving”. This is mostly for my own benefit because I think it is such an important concept and I believe I have a lot to learn in this area.
Over the last six weeks we’ve covered a variety of topics including “what you focus on you get”, “unlimited possibilities” and the importance of “vision and purpose”. We’ve studied the role “unconditional love” plays in our lives, the concept of “unlimited possibilities” and why “the secret to living is giving”. Mother Teresa embodies the qualities we have studied, so naturally, our leadership report for this unit centered on her life, her philosophies, her challenges and accomplishments and how we be more like her in our own lives. My children each wrote a beautiful tribute to Mother Teresa as the “final exam” for this unit. Reading each essay in its final form was very rewarding!
The humbling thing about home schooling is how much I am learning because of my kids. I am now fascinated with Mother Teresa, especially with regard to her selfless giving and her relentless commitment to her guiding principles. Her mission was to help one person at a time and in helping, she sought a personal connection with the abandoned and hopeless. When she sensed the connection was missing, she considered herself “off course”. Mother Teresa’s giving well never ran dry. Her internal resources remained in an eternal state of abundance, and that abundance allowed her to remain “on purpose”.
As I mentioned in a prior blog, the concept of giving is surprisingly challenging to teach to children. I am finding the “KISS” principle (keep it simple sweetie) to be most effective. Coincidently, as I was cleaning a closet this week, I ran across a book that I hadn’t read since my kids were little—“The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. I imagine most parents have read this book, but if you haven’t, I highly recommend it. It is a timeless and ageless story of selfless giving.
It’s the story of a boy and his favorite tree—The Giving Tree. He has a relationship with the tree through his entire life and depends on it for comfort and solitude. As the boy matures from toddler, to young man, to middle age and then his golden years, The Giving Tree always has something to give to the boy. The moral of the story is that no matter what how exhausted, tired or “spent” we are we always have something to give to others.
This “grand leadership experiment” of mine has been fascinating so far! And it’s only just begun. My education specialist asked me if I think it’s working. I am hopeful that it is, although I am well aware of the fact that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. My kids have been mostly receptive to my cause. Their emotions have ranged from extremely bored to wildly inspired (and a lot of in between). So, is it working, you ask? Evidence is mounting that it is. I say this as my children are yelling insults to each other while making cookies. I am choosing to believe that this temporary setback is due to the amount of sugar they are ingesting at the moment.
But, overall, the seeds that have been planted through 30+ hours or so of training are starting to sprout. I see it in their interaction with each other and towards my husband and me. We are definitely closer. I catch sound bites of conversations they are having with each other that include “little tidbits” from our lessons. I get continual requests for “calming meditations” and “visualizations” before we go to sleep. While these seem to be positive indications, a simple sign from God would be beneficial to my ego!
I believe children are very close to God, and while they may not “get” everything we discuss on a purely intellectual level, they get it spiritually. My delusion is that because of this time we are spending, they will understand the power of choice and how their thoughts and decisions affect the quality of their lives. Ultimately, they will incorporate these tools to create a spectacular life!
Over the last six weeks we’ve covered a variety of topics including “what you focus on you get”, “unlimited possibilities” and the importance of “vision and purpose”. We’ve studied the role “unconditional love” plays in our lives, the concept of “unlimited possibilities” and why “the secret to living is giving”. Mother Teresa embodies the qualities we have studied, so naturally, our leadership report for this unit centered on her life, her philosophies, her challenges and accomplishments and how we be more like her in our own lives. My children each wrote a beautiful tribute to Mother Teresa as the “final exam” for this unit. Reading each essay in its final form was very rewarding!
The humbling thing about home schooling is how much I am learning because of my kids. I am now fascinated with Mother Teresa, especially with regard to her selfless giving and her relentless commitment to her guiding principles. Her mission was to help one person at a time and in helping, she sought a personal connection with the abandoned and hopeless. When she sensed the connection was missing, she considered herself “off course”. Mother Teresa’s giving well never ran dry. Her internal resources remained in an eternal state of abundance, and that abundance allowed her to remain “on purpose”.
As I mentioned in a prior blog, the concept of giving is surprisingly challenging to teach to children. I am finding the “KISS” principle (keep it simple sweetie) to be most effective. Coincidently, as I was cleaning a closet this week, I ran across a book that I hadn’t read since my kids were little—“The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. I imagine most parents have read this book, but if you haven’t, I highly recommend it. It is a timeless and ageless story of selfless giving.
It’s the story of a boy and his favorite tree—The Giving Tree. He has a relationship with the tree through his entire life and depends on it for comfort and solitude. As the boy matures from toddler, to young man, to middle age and then his golden years, The Giving Tree always has something to give to the boy. The moral of the story is that no matter what how exhausted, tired or “spent” we are we always have something to give to others.
This “grand leadership experiment” of mine has been fascinating so far! And it’s only just begun. My education specialist asked me if I think it’s working. I am hopeful that it is, although I am well aware of the fact that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. My kids have been mostly receptive to my cause. Their emotions have ranged from extremely bored to wildly inspired (and a lot of in between). So, is it working, you ask? Evidence is mounting that it is. I say this as my children are yelling insults to each other while making cookies. I am choosing to believe that this temporary setback is due to the amount of sugar they are ingesting at the moment.
But, overall, the seeds that have been planted through 30+ hours or so of training are starting to sprout. I see it in their interaction with each other and towards my husband and me. We are definitely closer. I catch sound bites of conversations they are having with each other that include “little tidbits” from our lessons. I get continual requests for “calming meditations” and “visualizations” before we go to sleep. While these seem to be positive indications, a simple sign from God would be beneficial to my ego!
I believe children are very close to God, and while they may not “get” everything we discuss on a purely intellectual level, they get it spiritually. My delusion is that because of this time we are spending, they will understand the power of choice and how their thoughts and decisions affect the quality of their lives. Ultimately, they will incorporate these tools to create a spectacular life!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Womanly Parts, Seam Splitting Farts and Oliver Twist at Bed Time!
Raucous laughter erupted for the third time in the nearby game room. I repressed the undercurrent of anger brewing inside me. Now that we are home schooling, I am attempting to replace some of our marginally acceptable bed time reading material with “the classics”. I was thrilled earlier in the day when I happened across a copy of Charles Dicken’s beloved classic, Oliver Twist. Anticipation of sharing my discovery had been building throughout the day. I envisioned the looks of joy rivaled only by Christmas morning that would adorn my children’s faces when I announced “Kids, we’re going to read a classic tonight, Oliver Twist.” I was so excited that several times I had almost divulged my secret, but somehow, I managed to withhold it until exactly the right time.
Completely opposite of my expectations, my “surprise” was met with screams of belligerence instead of squeals of delight. “CAN’T WE READ GIRLS RULE?” they wailed in perfect unison. I wondered where I had gone wrong. It took ten minutes of negotiation, deep breathing and verbal “conditioning” to get the energy in the room back to a state that was conducive to reading.
And then came the laughter…
I persisted and resolutely commenced reading, deliberately raising the volume of my voice to cover the laughter coming from the game room. Within three paragraphs I was losing my voice, questioning my judgment and doubting my literary selection. This was way over their heads, I thought to myself. Maybe I should acquiesce to Girls Rule and just forget the classics.
My son saved the moment by offering to venture out to the game room to tell my husband to lower the volume. Thankfully, this broke my pattern of negative thinking. Thirty seconds became two minutes. My daughter volunteered to “go get them”. Two minutes became four minutes. I heard my husband say “Check this out Frankie, this guy farted and split the seams of his pants right open.” More raucous laughter, only this time my children were partaking.
How did we digress from reading one of the world’s best literary works to seam splitting farts? And how was I going to regain control of this situation? It was pretty clear that viewing strange bodily functions on the big screen was much more appealing than what I was offering. Even a fluffy down comforter and the promise of backrubs couldn’t turn this situation around. My plan for enlightenment… my calming and enriching bedtime routine was being sabotaged by none other than my "other half". Where was the “unified front”. Weren’t we in this together? Aren’t the classics going to take our children much farther in life than farting? I felt overwhelmingly alone.
I took a few cleansing breaths and convinced myself that it was going to be okay, and before I knew it, I heard my son say to my daughter, “we better go back with Mom or she’s not going to read.” Had I hooked them in three confusing introductory paragraphs? Probably not, but my kids really love story time, so thousands of prior nights of reading were working in my favor.
Ten minutes later, we were back to where we started...at the very beginning. I decided correctly that if I was to have even a slight chance of making this work, I had better stop every three or four sentences to translate the starkly different English of the mid 1800’s to the English of the early 2000’s. My translation was questionable, but I persisted and before I knew it, they were engaged.
Then my darling husband, in a decidedly disruptive fashion, entered the room, ready to share commentary about another gross bodily function he had just observed. In his awkward attempt to crawl into the tiny twin bed with all of us, my tween daughter screamed, “Dad, you’re hurting my womanly parts.” Womanly parts? She’s 10. She doesn’t have womanly parts. Dear God, what was happening to my family?
I took three more cleansing breaths and waited patiently. Things eventually settled down and somehow, we managed to get through a whole chapter of Oliver Twist before my son drifted off to sleep. I guess great writing is great writing and a great story is a great story, no matter how poorly translated by me!
I wouldn’t yet call us a “classics family”, but there was a glimmer of hope this evening as I realized that even when I have to compete with “womanly parts” and “seam splitting farts”, we can still enjoy a little “Oliver Twist” at bed time.
Completely opposite of my expectations, my “surprise” was met with screams of belligerence instead of squeals of delight. “CAN’T WE READ GIRLS RULE?” they wailed in perfect unison. I wondered where I had gone wrong. It took ten minutes of negotiation, deep breathing and verbal “conditioning” to get the energy in the room back to a state that was conducive to reading.
And then came the laughter…
I persisted and resolutely commenced reading, deliberately raising the volume of my voice to cover the laughter coming from the game room. Within three paragraphs I was losing my voice, questioning my judgment and doubting my literary selection. This was way over their heads, I thought to myself. Maybe I should acquiesce to Girls Rule and just forget the classics.
My son saved the moment by offering to venture out to the game room to tell my husband to lower the volume. Thankfully, this broke my pattern of negative thinking. Thirty seconds became two minutes. My daughter volunteered to “go get them”. Two minutes became four minutes. I heard my husband say “Check this out Frankie, this guy farted and split the seams of his pants right open.” More raucous laughter, only this time my children were partaking.
How did we digress from reading one of the world’s best literary works to seam splitting farts? And how was I going to regain control of this situation? It was pretty clear that viewing strange bodily functions on the big screen was much more appealing than what I was offering. Even a fluffy down comforter and the promise of backrubs couldn’t turn this situation around. My plan for enlightenment… my calming and enriching bedtime routine was being sabotaged by none other than my "other half". Where was the “unified front”. Weren’t we in this together? Aren’t the classics going to take our children much farther in life than farting? I felt overwhelmingly alone.
I took a few cleansing breaths and convinced myself that it was going to be okay, and before I knew it, I heard my son say to my daughter, “we better go back with Mom or she’s not going to read.” Had I hooked them in three confusing introductory paragraphs? Probably not, but my kids really love story time, so thousands of prior nights of reading were working in my favor.
Ten minutes later, we were back to where we started...at the very beginning. I decided correctly that if I was to have even a slight chance of making this work, I had better stop every three or four sentences to translate the starkly different English of the mid 1800’s to the English of the early 2000’s. My translation was questionable, but I persisted and before I knew it, they were engaged.
Then my darling husband, in a decidedly disruptive fashion, entered the room, ready to share commentary about another gross bodily function he had just observed. In his awkward attempt to crawl into the tiny twin bed with all of us, my tween daughter screamed, “Dad, you’re hurting my womanly parts.” Womanly parts? She’s 10. She doesn’t have womanly parts. Dear God, what was happening to my family?
I took three more cleansing breaths and waited patiently. Things eventually settled down and somehow, we managed to get through a whole chapter of Oliver Twist before my son drifted off to sleep. I guess great writing is great writing and a great story is a great story, no matter how poorly translated by me!
I wouldn’t yet call us a “classics family”, but there was a glimmer of hope this evening as I realized that even when I have to compete with “womanly parts” and “seam splitting farts”, we can still enjoy a little “Oliver Twist” at bed time.
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Fifth Thing I Love About Home School--Progress!
I had my first meeting today with my ES to present proof of our “progress”. In the home school world, the ES or Education Specialist is the master teacher who oversees a group of home schooling families. She has accountability to make sure families are progressing towards their goals.
I have been nervously anticipating this meeting for a few weeks. Would we “measure up?” Or would we be sent back to our desks to redo our work? I spent about 3 hours last night reviewing and carefully selecting work samples from all our subject areas that would best represent my children’s progress. I packaged it up neatly, along with our attendance records and curriculum in preparation for the meeting.
The meeting went great. In fact, it was somewhat anticlimactic when I found out that the only person to see our work is our ES and that the samples I so thoughtfully selected basically sit in a storage facility awaiting future possible audit. Should there be one, I’ll volunteer to have my file reviewed, just so someone else can bear witness to our progress.
It turns out, the old “hold onto the paper for 7 years routine” applies to home school too. After being in business for myself for years, I could have purchased a mountain cabin in Aspen for what I have spent in storage space in order to comply with state and federally mandated “record keeping”. But I didn’t even care. It was sort of like life. I am enjoying the journey rather than the destination. These meetings are merely symbolic milestones for parents to measure progress. And reviewing our progress left me 100% certain that we have made the right choice for our family and children.
Learning at home is whatever you decide to make of it. And thanks to the efforts and participation of my children, we are getting a lot out of our homeschooling adventure. The level of learning is incredible. The flexibility is awesome! I keep a log of “projects” I want to do. The only thing lacking is the time to do them all. In the last 6 weeks, we have been able to do so much that we wouldn’t have if we were obligated to school. But that’s just where I want to be in my world right now, and I realize that we are all on different paths.
Here’s what I believe applies to all of us. No matter what our circumstances in life, we need to take time to measure and appreciate our progress. We also need to realize that just small, incremental improvements in a given area add up to tremendous improvements over time. Someone once said to me, “you don’t have to change everything overnight. In fact, you’ll be more successful in the long run at reaching your goals if you make small but consistent improvements.” You must remain committed to your outcome, because sometimes your progress will seem imperceptible. But then you’ll have a moment like I did yesterday, when you step back and take an objective look at what you’ve accomplished and think, “that’s pretty awesome!”
Enjoy your successes and share them often. Move confidently in the direction of your dreams, and don’t forget to celebrate your progress along the way!
I have been nervously anticipating this meeting for a few weeks. Would we “measure up?” Or would we be sent back to our desks to redo our work? I spent about 3 hours last night reviewing and carefully selecting work samples from all our subject areas that would best represent my children’s progress. I packaged it up neatly, along with our attendance records and curriculum in preparation for the meeting.
The meeting went great. In fact, it was somewhat anticlimactic when I found out that the only person to see our work is our ES and that the samples I so thoughtfully selected basically sit in a storage facility awaiting future possible audit. Should there be one, I’ll volunteer to have my file reviewed, just so someone else can bear witness to our progress.
It turns out, the old “hold onto the paper for 7 years routine” applies to home school too. After being in business for myself for years, I could have purchased a mountain cabin in Aspen for what I have spent in storage space in order to comply with state and federally mandated “record keeping”. But I didn’t even care. It was sort of like life. I am enjoying the journey rather than the destination. These meetings are merely symbolic milestones for parents to measure progress. And reviewing our progress left me 100% certain that we have made the right choice for our family and children.
Learning at home is whatever you decide to make of it. And thanks to the efforts and participation of my children, we are getting a lot out of our homeschooling adventure. The level of learning is incredible. The flexibility is awesome! I keep a log of “projects” I want to do. The only thing lacking is the time to do them all. In the last 6 weeks, we have been able to do so much that we wouldn’t have if we were obligated to school. But that’s just where I want to be in my world right now, and I realize that we are all on different paths.
Here’s what I believe applies to all of us. No matter what our circumstances in life, we need to take time to measure and appreciate our progress. We also need to realize that just small, incremental improvements in a given area add up to tremendous improvements over time. Someone once said to me, “you don’t have to change everything overnight. In fact, you’ll be more successful in the long run at reaching your goals if you make small but consistent improvements.” You must remain committed to your outcome, because sometimes your progress will seem imperceptible. But then you’ll have a moment like I did yesterday, when you step back and take an objective look at what you’ve accomplished and think, “that’s pretty awesome!”
Enjoy your successes and share them often. Move confidently in the direction of your dreams, and don’t forget to celebrate your progress along the way!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Lord Help Me! I’m “Off The Grid!”
I found a really funny email in my inbox today. I got a message from the husband of an acquaintance of mine, apologizing to me on behalf of his wife because she had not responded to my emails. “She’s off the grid for a week,” he explained “and wants you to know that everything is okay.” Off the Grid! At first I felt sorry for her. It sounded to absolutely tragic—this being “off grid”. And then it made me laugh. I can’t wait to talk to her to find out exactly what she’s been up too. My friend is very “tuned in” so I imagine this was some type of spiritual retreat. Or, maybe she had given up “the grid” for Lent. My imagination is running wild with this one!
What the heck is “the grid?” Have we become so addicted to our electronic connections that we can’t even function without them? Do we periodically have to “check off the grid” for an extended period of time just to make sure we can deal with life? My friend, I am not trivializing your “off grid experience” and I really cannot wait to hear about it. But I am laughing hysterically at myself!
For the last 34.6 hours, I have been experiencing my own “off grid” experience accompanied by a mild anxiety attack. We’ve been having a lot of rain here in sunny southern California, and when that happens, we lose our cable and internet for extended periods of time (which in my world is anything over 45 minutes). Thank God, it was over the weekend and on a holiday so it didn’t affect our home school routine. That would have really sent me into a tail spin. But, I can tell you, I felt completely lost without my invisible connection to “the grid”. What was I missing? Who was trying to contact me? How many great posts had I missed on blogs that I follow? Would anyone remember me when I came back? Or worse, would anyone actually have missed me?
Thankfully, my “off grid” experience ended in 34.6 hours after many infuriating phone calls to “customer service.” But, I think it begs the question about the role of technology in our lives. Not only are we balancing the normal aspects of relationships, family, friends, health and career, and spirituality, but we are now in a constant struggle to balance technology. And within any single “connected family”, there are individual technology balancing struggles taking place. Not only do I have to monitor my own “grid addiction” but I have to monitor my children’s grid additions. Hopefully my husband can handle his, although I have often thought an intervention was appropriate for him.
I very clearly remember life before all this “grid mania”. It was simple and Rockwellian. You didn’t answer the phone during dinner. A secretary took your messages and you returned them when the time was right. And, people still wrote letters to each other. We controlled our time and the timing of our communication with people. We didn’t just respond to ill timed and unwanted incoming communication missiles. Now, I believe, the tables have turned. Who is in control? If we aren’t careful, “the grid” controls us!
The family dinner hour was hijacked by telemarketer’s years ago. This, I believe, opened the door. Today, cell phones interrupt dinner conversations and drivers focus on texting rather than driving. We no longer have “work time” and “family time”, because bosses and job demands can find us through “the grid.” We get more spam than we do legitimate, quality communication, and the art of having a good old fashioned face to face, heart to heart conversation seems to be lost! Replaced by the now preferred method of communication, “the grid”.
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!!! And I really appreciate it in a home school environment. We have access to unbelievable information and with technology; we can take learning to a whole new level. Like many things, it requires moderation and balance.
But I wonder about the long term implications of our new preferred method of communication. Will our addition to “the grid” enhance or destroy us? What are your thoughts?
What the heck is “the grid?” Have we become so addicted to our electronic connections that we can’t even function without them? Do we periodically have to “check off the grid” for an extended period of time just to make sure we can deal with life? My friend, I am not trivializing your “off grid experience” and I really cannot wait to hear about it. But I am laughing hysterically at myself!
For the last 34.6 hours, I have been experiencing my own “off grid” experience accompanied by a mild anxiety attack. We’ve been having a lot of rain here in sunny southern California, and when that happens, we lose our cable and internet for extended periods of time (which in my world is anything over 45 minutes). Thank God, it was over the weekend and on a holiday so it didn’t affect our home school routine. That would have really sent me into a tail spin. But, I can tell you, I felt completely lost without my invisible connection to “the grid”. What was I missing? Who was trying to contact me? How many great posts had I missed on blogs that I follow? Would anyone remember me when I came back? Or worse, would anyone actually have missed me?
Thankfully, my “off grid” experience ended in 34.6 hours after many infuriating phone calls to “customer service.” But, I think it begs the question about the role of technology in our lives. Not only are we balancing the normal aspects of relationships, family, friends, health and career, and spirituality, but we are now in a constant struggle to balance technology. And within any single “connected family”, there are individual technology balancing struggles taking place. Not only do I have to monitor my own “grid addiction” but I have to monitor my children’s grid additions. Hopefully my husband can handle his, although I have often thought an intervention was appropriate for him.
I very clearly remember life before all this “grid mania”. It was simple and Rockwellian. You didn’t answer the phone during dinner. A secretary took your messages and you returned them when the time was right. And, people still wrote letters to each other. We controlled our time and the timing of our communication with people. We didn’t just respond to ill timed and unwanted incoming communication missiles. Now, I believe, the tables have turned. Who is in control? If we aren’t careful, “the grid” controls us!
The family dinner hour was hijacked by telemarketer’s years ago. This, I believe, opened the door. Today, cell phones interrupt dinner conversations and drivers focus on texting rather than driving. We no longer have “work time” and “family time”, because bosses and job demands can find us through “the grid.” We get more spam than we do legitimate, quality communication, and the art of having a good old fashioned face to face, heart to heart conversation seems to be lost! Replaced by the now preferred method of communication, “the grid”.
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!!! And I really appreciate it in a home school environment. We have access to unbelievable information and with technology; we can take learning to a whole new level. Like many things, it requires moderation and balance.
But I wonder about the long term implications of our new preferred method of communication. Will our addition to “the grid” enhance or destroy us? What are your thoughts?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Why Selfless Giving Requires a State of ETERNAL Internal Abundance.
For the next two weeks, my children and I are studying on the concept of GIVING in our leadership class. Teaching this is more complicated than I expected. My 9 and 10 year old are still dangerously close to the “it’s all about me” stage of their development. Like any normal elementary age kids, they have their empathetic and generous moments which can turn instantaneously turn into greed and selfishness. Hmmmm!!!! Maybe that behavior isn’t just limited to children. It seems to apply to me, too, and a little too closely, I might add.
I have a plethora of resources in my leadership library to supplement my teaching on this topic, but there is one really basic concept that MUST come through if they are going to get it. In order to give, you must have something to give. This requires one to be in a state of eternal internal abundance. What is this internal state of abundance and how does one get there? Eternally!
Well, let’s start with what it is not. It is not scarcity. It is not lack. It is not “protectionism”. This buzzword—“protectionism” has been popping up everywhere lately. It seems like all the major news channels and financial newsletters are all talking about how a new trend towards “protectionism” by many of the world’s leading economies, will escalate and prolong this global economic downturn. Well, that just sums it up perfectly! When we are in a state of scarcity or lack, we become protectionists, ultimately prolonging our scarcity and lack creating a downward death spiral of doom. Wow! That was depressing. But, isn’t that sort of the mindset of the collective consciousness right now? We have to snap out of this! Collectively.
On the other hand, when you are in a state of internal abundance, you are open to unlimited possibilities. You realize that the world has unlimited resources for everyone to enjoy, and that God really intended all of us to partake in the abundance He created. When you feel abundant, you believe you can give and give and give and still have more than enough. The giving begets giving—which perfectly describes the classic “art of reciprocation.” Every good sales person knows that in order to close the sale, they must give away something of value. I am hoping I can teach this concept to my children minus the manipulative salesperson techniques and sponsorship opportunities.
So, I have my hands full this week. How do you teach others (including myself) that it is in your best interest in life to remain in a state of ETERNAL internal abundance? And how do you actually get there? I am open to ideas. This blog is actually a cry for help!
In order to understand giving, we must understand what it is not. And once the intellectual understanding is instilled, we must move on to the practical day to day applications of being brave enough to put aside our own selfish needs in order to offer something up to someone else. And why is it often most difficult to do this with those we are closest too? That’s for another blog.
Somehow, I don’t think it will be learned in a few lessons. I think we’ll be working on this for a lifetime. Maybe that’s where the ETERNAL aspect of this comes in to play.
My kids will need a few “lighter” examples of this principle to inspire them. We watched Extreme Home Makeover tonight. That was an appropriate start and provided a few opportune moments of selfless giving sponsored by Sears. I have a feeling I’ll be digging up the movie “Pay it Forward” as well, and maybe a few episodes of Oprah’s “Big Give.” On a deeper and more spiritual level, our Mother Teresa reports are due this week, and she is and amazing contemporary example of “selfless giving.”
So let me offer up one of my favorite quotes by her. Hopefully it will inspire you as much as it has me.
DO IT ANYWAY
Sign In Mother Teresa's Office
People are unreasonable,
illogical, and self-centered
LOVE THEM ANYWAY
If you do good, people will
accuse you of selfish,
ulterior motives,
DO GOOD ANYWAY
If you are successful, you win
false friends and true enemies,
SUCCEED ANYWAY
The good you do will
be forgotten tomorrow,
DO GOOD ANYWAY
Honesty and frankness
make you vulnerable,
BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY
What you spent years building
may be destroyed overnight,
BUILD ANYWAY
People really need help but
may attack you if you help them,
HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY
Give the world the best you
have and you'll get kicked
in the teeth,
GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU'VE GOT ANYWAY.
From a sign on the wall
of Shishu Bhavan,
the Children's home in Calcutta
I have a plethora of resources in my leadership library to supplement my teaching on this topic, but there is one really basic concept that MUST come through if they are going to get it. In order to give, you must have something to give. This requires one to be in a state of eternal internal abundance. What is this internal state of abundance and how does one get there? Eternally!
Well, let’s start with what it is not. It is not scarcity. It is not lack. It is not “protectionism”. This buzzword—“protectionism” has been popping up everywhere lately. It seems like all the major news channels and financial newsletters are all talking about how a new trend towards “protectionism” by many of the world’s leading economies, will escalate and prolong this global economic downturn. Well, that just sums it up perfectly! When we are in a state of scarcity or lack, we become protectionists, ultimately prolonging our scarcity and lack creating a downward death spiral of doom. Wow! That was depressing. But, isn’t that sort of the mindset of the collective consciousness right now? We have to snap out of this! Collectively.
On the other hand, when you are in a state of internal abundance, you are open to unlimited possibilities. You realize that the world has unlimited resources for everyone to enjoy, and that God really intended all of us to partake in the abundance He created. When you feel abundant, you believe you can give and give and give and still have more than enough. The giving begets giving—which perfectly describes the classic “art of reciprocation.” Every good sales person knows that in order to close the sale, they must give away something of value. I am hoping I can teach this concept to my children minus the manipulative salesperson techniques and sponsorship opportunities.
So, I have my hands full this week. How do you teach others (including myself) that it is in your best interest in life to remain in a state of ETERNAL internal abundance? And how do you actually get there? I am open to ideas. This blog is actually a cry for help!
In order to understand giving, we must understand what it is not. And once the intellectual understanding is instilled, we must move on to the practical day to day applications of being brave enough to put aside our own selfish needs in order to offer something up to someone else. And why is it often most difficult to do this with those we are closest too? That’s for another blog.
Somehow, I don’t think it will be learned in a few lessons. I think we’ll be working on this for a lifetime. Maybe that’s where the ETERNAL aspect of this comes in to play.
My kids will need a few “lighter” examples of this principle to inspire them. We watched Extreme Home Makeover tonight. That was an appropriate start and provided a few opportune moments of selfless giving sponsored by Sears. I have a feeling I’ll be digging up the movie “Pay it Forward” as well, and maybe a few episodes of Oprah’s “Big Give.” On a deeper and more spiritual level, our Mother Teresa reports are due this week, and she is and amazing contemporary example of “selfless giving.”
So let me offer up one of my favorite quotes by her. Hopefully it will inspire you as much as it has me.
DO IT ANYWAY
Sign In Mother Teresa's Office
People are unreasonable,
illogical, and self-centered
LOVE THEM ANYWAY
If you do good, people will
accuse you of selfish,
ulterior motives,
DO GOOD ANYWAY
If you are successful, you win
false friends and true enemies,
SUCCEED ANYWAY
The good you do will
be forgotten tomorrow,
DO GOOD ANYWAY
Honesty and frankness
make you vulnerable,
BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY
What you spent years building
may be destroyed overnight,
BUILD ANYWAY
People really need help but
may attack you if you help them,
HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY
Give the world the best you
have and you'll get kicked
in the teeth,
GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU'VE GOT ANYWAY.
From a sign on the wall
of Shishu Bhavan,
the Children's home in Calcutta
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