Yes, I see the typo, but I kinda like it. Softmess seems to sum up my life, currently.
Category: Thoughts
Betsy + Billy C.
Just like that Monday, so long ago my answer will be yes. every time, yes. to every question, yes again and again, yes the way it was when we were together. until the demons are gone, yes and you can join me under that blanket, yes and your heart beats under my ear again Yes and yes and yes. I've never not loved you, my big goof.
An Experiment in Being Fully Present
Leaving something to do later, or because 'no one else will see it' is leaving a sort of energetic open-end, and that tends to tangle the energy (and aesthetics). Taking a moment to be present as we end a situation or moment has a different feel, a solid energy.
Morning Miles: Camp Chase Trail
Today's 3-mile trek on the Camp Chase Trail had an ethereal edge, thanks to the thick blanket of fog that settled in overnight. Don't worry, we're just doing three miles. The furthest I've done (walking, anyway) is six, one way. One of these days I'll make one of those other markers. Just not today. This …
What Do *You* Do When You Don’t Want to Do Anything?
For the last 2-3 weeks, I've been in a pretty magical flow. Wake up, write, walk, meditate, journal, work on a passion project I haven't told anyone about. I've managed to break my days with an appointment here and there, a few yoga classes, lots of decluttering chores, even dinner with old girlfriends, and gotten …
Continue reading What Do *You* Do When You Don’t Want to Do Anything?
4 Steps to Overcoming “Not Enough”
https://youtu.be/4cRetFptkw8 Today had a different plan for me than usual. I felt drawn to record rather than write. The impromptu nature of the video, still in my walking clothes, with my hair a mess and the remnants of a marathon cleaning session yesterday in my background, are really, really, really gnawing at me to not …
Friday Followup
So much to do, say, tell you about, over these last 48 hours, but to be honest, I am too emotionally drained to form much of a narrative with all the important details. I didn't want to let the day go by, however, without stating that I am absolutely finished teaching.
Dismissal
And when that final dismissal bell rings
two roads diverge at The Wood1
and I
take the one less traveled by...
Memorial Day Monday
So wild to think back to my first few years and how I craved having my own classroom, after two years spent subbing, and two years spent teaching in a janitor's closet. Yes, I had a janitor's closet for my first two years teaching high school, with 10-12 high school kids trying to fit in a room the size of a household bathroom because...
Saturday Snippet
I've been immersed in the experience of being a student on Zoom instead of the teacher, and learning that it is possible for beautiful things to happen there despite the digital divide. With the right teacher and the right energy, my assumptions about online learning have dissolved. Makes me wonder what other assumptions need further investigation against the truth of the matter.
Tuesday Thoughts
DId the Wise Men actually consider looking at Mary and Joseph's Babies-R-Us wish list?
Sunday Reflections
What I do know is that as each day passes, I feel lighter and more human. That's enough for me right now. It's been decades since I've felt this human. I kinda like it.
A Few New Friends
New friends exist everywhere you look.
This Final Friday
I may have started teaching in 1995, but I have never known what it feels like to not have August be my New Year's Eve and the first week of June having a holiday-like vibe. I've had bits of dreams of what it would be like to enjoy a gorgeous, chilly autumn morning outside of the cinder block school walls, or...
My Reality vs. Your Standards
It seems such a conundrum. If we can unconditionally accept all the parts of ourselves (including the flawed ones, or ones we see as less), which is our reality, we can begin to accept the wholeness (including perceived flaws) of others. The external standards we have come to levy against others as a form of qualification of their existence will start to dissolve...
Words by Beth 