Recently I have been reminded of how much I love real conversation. For much of my life, many of my favorite moments have come from times where I have conversations with people that go beyond the surface...it is truly one of my favorite things. Unfortunately it happens far less than I would hope. I find that most of the time, day to day conversations with people are filled with trivial topics and insincere feelings. I certainly think there is a time and place for light hearted discussions and quick answers, but I also yearn for more conversations like ones that leave me feeling like I know someone better. Listening to someone's life story...the wisdom they've gained from personal experiences or the heartache thats made them stronger in the midst of their struggles...is one of the greatest ways we have to connect to one another. I also love being able to share about ones values and convictions, hopes and dreams with out an agenda to alter or debate those thoughts. Just hearing how and why someone believes the way they do can offer insight and perspective. Nothing sounds better than a cup of hot chocolate, a quiet coffee shop, and a friend (or a stranger) to chat away a few hours of the day with. Small moments.
-K
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Perspective
This morning I woke up at 3:00 am ish feeling absolutely horrible. No idea why, but I spent the next two hours being very sick. As I was laying in the bathtub (Because baths make every kind of sickness better...) and praying: God, please please please make this go away, a thought popped into my mind... What a blessing that at this point in my life, the worst thing is how I'm feeling right now. I started thinking of how it might feel to be one of the people my husband sees everyday at his job that don't have homes as its becoming unbearably cold. What will they do through the winter without those very basic necessities that every person should have. Then I thought about my sweet little kindergarteners, most of which go home for the weekend and probably don't have much food, if any until they get back to school on Monday. Not to mention the living conditions and family situations many of the experience daily. I can't fathom what it would be like to be so small and have to have such big worries. I am so very blessed to have the life I have and the worries that I do. I love my home, my husband and family, and my job. I have great friends and I feel safe everyday. It was a nice reminder to realize those blessings as I was feeling horrible, because as awful as it was, I will be thankful everyday that THAT is usually my biggest worry. And it is also nice to be reminded of the fears and despairs of others in my life because it puts things in perspective, allows me to try to understand and if I'm lucky, somehow help one of those people who need it.
-K
-K
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Humanity Bracelets
I love love love these. I just got one and I want to get all of them...
-K
The one I got is white and says Speak Kindness...Make a difference. Not only are these super cute, they are all a great reminder to look down and be reminded to do or say good--to make a difference. Even better, 25% of the proceeds from each bracelet went to buy school supplies for children who need them. That seems simple, but helping a child be prepared and successful in school can truly make a difference in their lives! These can be bought in multiple places--I got mine from The Buckle. The website is www.humanityforall.com ! Love them :) ♥
-K
Friday, November 5, 2010
If only I could view the world like a child.
Something I love about teaching Kindergarten is being constantly surrounded by the innocent and full hearted wonderment of small children. These children especially have a unique perspective as they are just beginning their school experience and all of them are beside themselves with excitement. If we could all live our lives the way these children do, there is no doubt in my mind that the world would be a better place.
One of the things I love is the way 5 year olds live in the moment. They have full emotions that are honest and raw and they are not afraid to express them. They aren't afraid of saying how they feel, which might cause problems if they also were not incredibly gracious with their forgiveness... but they are. Sometimes their world is falling apart because their friend said something mean or hurt them physically and a second later, they are ready to put it behind them and be as friendly as ever. Yet, as an adult I am sometimes--actually often--stingy with forgiveness and understanding. Typically it takes me some time to come to my senses and realize anger and resentment are never good. How much time and hardship I would save myself if I lived in the moment and offered forgiveness freely like the children in my class. And the most amazing thing is these children often give forgiveness blindly without necessarily understanding why someone hurt them. They inspire me.
Another trait of these small people that I admire is the way they are unafraid to share their ideas and questions. This uninhibited attitude towards the way they process their world is amazing to me. It is one of the main reasons I chose to teach small children. Their eagerness to do this is why I think they are far greater thinkers than most adults. They think out of the box...they come up with ideas that are not even close to the thoughts an adult would imagine they would say. However, it is often far more insightful and it forces us to look at things from different ways. Somewhere a long the way, this gets lost and we begin to share only ideas we think are expected. Ultimately, after enough times doing this, I think we actually start limiting our thinking inside our heads as well. If we allowed children to continue to think for themselves instead of teaching them how to think like we want them to--otherwise known as education (sadly)--I imagine people would view the world differently by the time they were grown.
What happens to change the way we think and feel as a child to how we think and feel as adults and why can't we learn from them?
One of the things I love is the way 5 year olds live in the moment. They have full emotions that are honest and raw and they are not afraid to express them. They aren't afraid of saying how they feel, which might cause problems if they also were not incredibly gracious with their forgiveness... but they are. Sometimes their world is falling apart because their friend said something mean or hurt them physically and a second later, they are ready to put it behind them and be as friendly as ever. Yet, as an adult I am sometimes--actually often--stingy with forgiveness and understanding. Typically it takes me some time to come to my senses and realize anger and resentment are never good. How much time and hardship I would save myself if I lived in the moment and offered forgiveness freely like the children in my class. And the most amazing thing is these children often give forgiveness blindly without necessarily understanding why someone hurt them. They inspire me.
Another trait of these small people that I admire is the way they are unafraid to share their ideas and questions. This uninhibited attitude towards the way they process their world is amazing to me. It is one of the main reasons I chose to teach small children. Their eagerness to do this is why I think they are far greater thinkers than most adults. They think out of the box...they come up with ideas that are not even close to the thoughts an adult would imagine they would say. However, it is often far more insightful and it forces us to look at things from different ways. Somewhere a long the way, this gets lost and we begin to share only ideas we think are expected. Ultimately, after enough times doing this, I think we actually start limiting our thinking inside our heads as well. If we allowed children to continue to think for themselves instead of teaching them how to think like we want them to--otherwise known as education (sadly)--I imagine people would view the world differently by the time they were grown.
What happens to change the way we think and feel as a child to how we think and feel as adults and why can't we learn from them?
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