could not have been more perfect. It was a beautiful, sunny, windy day. Not too hot, not too cold, just right. From my office i heard students laughing, playing the guitar, locker doors opening and closing, drums playing, discussions about eating meat or not eating meat = music…the sound of high school students. i have to say i loved the buzz of our students figuring out their schedules, where to go, who to talk to and all those spaces in between. Happy faces, puzzled faces, curious faces, all welcomed faces. i sat in the networking exercise where students and staff wrote down three things we wanted to learn and three things we wanted to teach. Very quickly connections were made and the realization that we are simultaneously students and teachers.. We all have the potential to learn from each other and teach each other. After lunch i lead a mindfulness exercise outside in our garden, introduced myself and my services and ended with my Tibetan Bowl. It was magical. We started by taking off our shoes (and socks…yes everyone participated…willingly) to simply feel the grass beneath our feet. How wonderful it is to feel grass. Nothing else. Connecting with the Earth that feeds and nourishes us. There were giggles, silence and fun. After my introduction i introduced my Tibetan Bowl and invited everyone to strike it and/or attempt to make it sing. For about 15 minutes students and staff were silent, present, curious and wide-eyed. We watched as each one of us handled my singing bowl. What a gift to have those few moments of being fully present and still. i was very grateful to everyone for their willingness to try something new. i shared that i often use my Tibetan Bowl to center, release stress, mediate and so forth. It is has been my experience that stress, anxiety, sadness, disappointments or self-doubt (to name a few) don’t go away as you grow older and wiser, they are a part of life. We can however, get better at coping. There are so many healthy non-invasive ways to deal with stress and other not so good feeling emotions/thoughts. As we continue to explore and learn different ways to cope we can become better at reaching a mindful or centered state enhancing our ability to work through whatever issue or situation is at hand. i had a wonderful professor in grad school who would often say “Embrace your paradoxes and the light of the middle rode will shine through!” So far my truth is that he is right. Thanks Dr. D!
Thank you for reading and allowing me to share my “personal truths.”