Mindfulness

A journal prompt a few weeks ago asked me what I believed in. I have to admit that I have a hard time with this, because my beliefs have nothing to do with a conclusion. It might not even have specifics. I do not have a strong believe that God exists or that there is life after death or that there is some sort of reward system that determines if you lived a pious life. Those things I am undecided on, because I do not have enough evidence to sway me and there are so many different versions of these sorts of ideas that all of them seem both equally plausible as well as inconclusive. Of course if you believe in any of that then good for you, but my brain does not work that way. I cannot conclusively give myself to any organized belief system, because there is so much I am unsure of. I do believe in a process though that brings meaning to people's present life. I believe we should be kind, we should be honest, and we should all serve a purpose that is bigger than ourselves. Some find...

Sometimes I do random journal prompts in my bullet journal. A few days ago it prompted me to think about my strengths. At first all the joke answers came to mind first--I am an excellent bullshitter and can create imaginative games like a boss. Then I thought of the more academic answers which would be that I am great with language, persuasion, argument, and recognizing patterns. I am a big picture kind of person. Always have been even as a kid. After a few moments I forced myself to brainstorm even more, because everything seemed superficial. I wanted to find to my core what it is that I am good at. Truth is I am an expert at failing. This is something that I try to convey to my students and the perfectionists in my life. Challenge, struggle, and failure is exactly what we need. You learn nothing by doing well all the time. Our SPED, ELL, and students who struggle in certain subjects have an advantage that they run away from. They know what it means to have to work hard for someth...

The thoughts I have been thinking about lately is language. Words are powerful and without even meaning to we can make people feel bad or make people feel under appreciated. When I was younger I had this friend, whom I am still friends with, and she was really into fantasy books including romance. I was someone who took pride in loving non-fiction books and I thought those sorts of things were cheesy. Now, I have never ready any of those books. But because I did not understand it I would often tease her about it. Little did I know that if I asked her simple questions like "What is it that you love about those books?" I might have learned something about her and I also might have learned that these books can be good for me. Eventually I read Harry Potter and had to apologize to my friend. I see this in my students. Kids who have a hard time reading put down kids who love reading. Partially because they do not understand how anyone could find joy in something that gives the...