After a long trip around the dark side of the moon and back, it's long since time to post something new. It seems like forever since anything has been posted here. There are many reasons, but it's not for lack of worthwhile things to share. In fact, sometimes there's so much inside aching to burst forth that words prove insufficient, or the lofty, creative thoughts of the night disappear like a fleeting mist at morning's first light. ;)
Did you know that journaling one's thoughts, especially about stressful situations, can be healing and help one to gain a more objective view of one's self and one's circumstances? For an introvert, this process often happens internally, while for extraverts it is usually necessary to think out loud, in order to see/hear one's own thoughts clearly enough to evaluate them and come to a conclusion. No matter what format works well, the process of looking at a situation from the perspective of a "fly on the wall" is helpful to disengage the hot, emotional limbic system and see things with one's cooler, less emotional part of the brain where rationality usually abides. Oftentimes, meaningful songs and poetry or other works of art result from deep anquish, and this creative outlet can provide a healthy way of processing one's emotions and reactions to a difficult circumstance.
Perhaps instead of focusing so much on penalizing or medicating children who struggle with handling their emotions healthily, a better way to handle it might be to train them to invest their thoughts and feelings into something creative and positive, that can benefit both themselves and others. Perhaps there might be less violence and bullying, and fewer troubled teens if they could be trained to healthily work with their emotions, to delay gratification for a better future, and to evaluate themselves and others from a neutral, outside perspective?
Perhaps schools could focus a little more on helping children to learn to become whole, healthy, mature, self-motivated people who are able to contribute something positive and lasting to their world, and focus a little less on cramming in a myriad of facts simply to pass standard exams.
While facts and specific knowledge are useful, they are not the essence of life, nor are they always set in stone, but often are an ever-changing target that one must continually chase in order to stay on top of the latest information. So, it seems that it's much more important to learn how to learn for oneself and discern fact from fiction, than to learn a certain set of facts by rote memorization. Also, really undertanding a process and it's concepts is more important than being able to recite the steps of a process and follow it to the letter. Perhaps our systems train us to be good machinery, cogs in the wheel of progress and industry, but poor creators and thinkers...
...which causes one to wonder - are any of us actually fully alive in this overly busy, overly stimulated age? Or are we, as a whole, semi-blind, semi-deadened, overly exhausted zombies who have contentedly grown used to merely skimming the surface of life, missing the unfathomable depths and comlexities of its richness and fullness?
When was the last time you stopped to smell the roses and appreciate their beauty in all their minute nuances?
When was the last time you slowed down long enough to simply breathe and observe your surroundings, and to be filled with the wonder of a child seeing something with fresh eyes?
When was the last time you took the time to lead a child to discover something new for themselves and be enthralled with the knowledge they unearthed on their own?
When was the last time when you realized the positive, kind influence that you can be in the life of a child (or adult) - to nurture his/her best aspects and dreams, encouraging him/her to reach one's full potential?
"The right word
at the right time
is like precious gold
set in silver."
(Proverbs 25:11 (CEV))
Harshness builds barriers and sparks conflict, but kindness can defeat even mighty kings.
Our world longs for kindness - how will you share kindness today, and spread hope and healing, rather than controversy or conflict?
Perhaps instead of focusing so much on penalizing or medicating children who struggle with handling their emotions healthily, a better way to handle it might be to train them to invest their thoughts and feelings into something creative and positive, that can benefit both themselves and others. Perhaps there might be less violence and bullying, and fewer troubled teens if they could be trained to healthily work with their emotions, to delay gratification for a better future, and to evaluate themselves and others from a neutral, outside perspective?
Perhaps schools could focus a little more on helping children to learn to become whole, healthy, mature, self-motivated people who are able to contribute something positive and lasting to their world, and focus a little less on cramming in a myriad of facts simply to pass standard exams.
While facts and specific knowledge are useful, they are not the essence of life, nor are they always set in stone, but often are an ever-changing target that one must continually chase in order to stay on top of the latest information. So, it seems that it's much more important to learn how to learn for oneself and discern fact from fiction, than to learn a certain set of facts by rote memorization. Also, really undertanding a process and it's concepts is more important than being able to recite the steps of a process and follow it to the letter. Perhaps our systems train us to be good machinery, cogs in the wheel of progress and industry, but poor creators and thinkers...
...which causes one to wonder - are any of us actually fully alive in this overly busy, overly stimulated age? Or are we, as a whole, semi-blind, semi-deadened, overly exhausted zombies who have contentedly grown used to merely skimming the surface of life, missing the unfathomable depths and comlexities of its richness and fullness?
When was the last time you stopped to smell the roses and appreciate their beauty in all their minute nuances?
When was the last time you slowed down long enough to simply breathe and observe your surroundings, and to be filled with the wonder of a child seeing something with fresh eyes?
When was the last time you took the time to lead a child to discover something new for themselves and be enthralled with the knowledge they unearthed on their own?
When was the last time when you realized the positive, kind influence that you can be in the life of a child (or adult) - to nurture his/her best aspects and dreams, encouraging him/her to reach one's full potential?
"The right word
at the right time
is like precious gold
set in silver."
(Proverbs 25:11 (CEV))
Harshness builds barriers and sparks conflict, but kindness can defeat even mighty kings.
Our world longs for kindness - how will you share kindness today, and spread hope and healing, rather than controversy or conflict?
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