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| November Skyline at Popham Beach, Maine |
In my classroom every so often I stop in the middle of teaching. It's a deeply effective way of changing the tide of a lesson if there is negativity of any kind in the room. After I stop I always ask my students, "Why do you think I stopped?" At the beginning of the year I often hear, "Everyone was being loud," or something to that effect. I then ask, "Everyone?" After some time they get that I'm not judging or condemning anyone in the class or the class as a whole. I am simply pausing as a way to help each student become aware of choices and behaviors, and how they affect our learning community as a whole. Over time, though not always perfect, the atmosphere of the classroom becomes one of caring acceptance and students learn to work together to help one another with whatever challenges might arise.
Just stopping works in many ways for varied situations. That was on my mind today as I continued to ponder what is going on in our society right now. And this is what came:
Just Stop
So much unease, discontent,
wonder and worry
coursing through our world.
One can easily be swallowed
by powerfully negative currents.
Strongly they pull,
pit us against one another,
make us judge and condemn -
if we succumb.
The future, as always, is uncertain.
It has become even more important to
just stop.
Look to the horizon to watch
multi-hued clouds
as they billow and blow,
to admire the dazzling colors of our
steady star as it rises and sets,
to behold the magic of the moon as it
travels our ever present sky.
Listen to the sound
of ocean waves as they
softly break upon our solid shores,
to changing winds
as they make
naked trees dance,
to busy birds singing
their individual songs.
Pause to feel
grateful for the good things
in life,
to consider the thoughts
and feelings of those
with whom time is shared,
to simply be.
Be open to any opportunity
to soak in the positive currents
of the natural world,
of empathy and compassion,
of love shared.
Every so often
just stop -
look, listen, feel,
reset, be.
So much unease, discontent,
wonder and worry
coursing through our world.
One can easily be swallowed
by powerfully negative currents.
Strongly they pull,
pit us against one another,
make us judge and condemn -
if we succumb.
The future, as always, is uncertain.
It has become even more important to
just stop.
Look to the horizon to watch
multi-hued clouds
as they billow and blow,
to admire the dazzling colors of our
steady star as it rises and sets,
to behold the magic of the moon as it
travels our ever present sky.
Listen to the sound
of ocean waves as they
softly break upon our solid shores,
to changing winds
as they make
naked trees dance,
to busy birds singing
their individual songs.
Pause to feel
grateful for the good things
in life,
to consider the thoughts
and feelings of those
with whom time is shared,
to simply be.
Be open to any opportunity
to soak in the positive currents
of the natural world,
of empathy and compassion,
of love shared.
Every so often
just stop -
look, listen, feel,
reset, be.
Sarah Carlson
November 13, 2016
