ok, first curriculum reminder: feel yourself breathing. Let your shoulders drop. and just. Be.
no to-do lists, productivity hacks or getting anywhere necessary.
(lesson objective: pause - remember this moment is your life)
next, please give up ardently striving to be Someone because you’re conditioned to believe that love is not free.
remember that love doesn’t need to be earned. you are loved and Love, inherently.
to add on, you’re a gift to the world, already more than enough,
regardless of your bank account, job performance or accumulation of stuff.
(lesson objective: unconditional worth)
note for the next lesson: you are nature - not apart from it all, but a part of it all.
a vast web of beings inter-being, from the large and inter-galactic to the microscopically small.
so, when you spot a bird resting on a branch, remember that it is seeing you too.
and that you are both made of cosmic stardust - like the bugs and the sun and the misty morning dew.
(lesson objectives: interconnectedness, awe)
also, let the trees remind you to s l o w d o w n from your hurried days.
They whisper, “life moves in rhythmic cycles”, flowing with deep knowing in seen and unseen ways.
(lesson objectives: slow down, tune in)
learning (unlearning?) extension: the moon reminds you that so much is happening that doesn’t meet the eye,
and that - just like you - its wholeness is always present even when you can’t see it in the sky.
and oh, try not to forget that some stress is beneficial, but don’t mistake business for aliveness or for joy.
actions and ambition are necessary. and there is power in silence in this world full of noise.
(lesson objectives: rest, patience)
and a reminder not to push away your shadows - welcoming all parts will soften their edges,
and in the softening, there is space and clarity to feel and see where your learning edge is.
(lesson objective: radical acceptance, but not over-identification)
also, please remember that thoughts are not facts - they are real but not true.
and that everyone is the main character of the captivating movie in their mind - just like you.
to that end, challenge assumptions - we all have conceptual overlays that we perceive our experiences through.
so examine deeply held perceptions and remember that seeing with a beginner’s mind is often a helpful view.
(lesson objectives: empathy, perspective, vulnerability, connection, curiosity)
in summation, please remember to wear (fierce) compassion like your favorite t-shirt. (repeat as needed)
leave space to feel indignation about our world, but let love be your primary fuel.
and remember that a knife that can be wielded as a weapon can also be used as a tool.
oh dear one, laugh, cry. connect, lighten up - and be a bit gentler with yourself and bit less cruel,
otherwise these lessons become less freeing and, instead, another set of constricting rules.
These messages serve as reminders to myself of the start of my curriculum in this messy and beautiful being human school. ❤
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Pair this post with the following:
A Poem About Stories by Amy Dawson
Haiku in Health & PE: Mindfulness in Motion by Allisha Blanchette
Fractures by Carlós Andrés Gomez
Have you read the latest Book of the Month recommendation?
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