First Vote

The streets and sidewalks of the Annex are abuzz today. People are out walking, riding bikes, driving vehicles of all sorts. They are making their way to the nearest poll station to cast their ballot. Today is Election Day in Canada and more people than ever came out to vote and be heard.

Am I the only one who feels that sense of joy when I crawl behind the cardboard booth to mark an X in the box of my choice? I feel such a sense of pride. I am adding my voice to our democratic collective. My voice matters! I experienced that emotion today. My eyes fill with tears, my heart flutters with exhilaration and I have a tremendous feeling of fulfilled responsibility and efficacy.

On top of that today our youngest daughter, Jacquie voted for the first time. We walked to the poll together. Anticipating this milestone, we shared many conversations, read many articles and listened to numerous people who willingly voiced their political opinions. The responsibility to vote smart encourages Jacquie to read up, reach out, and ask questions, so that as she leaves the poll, she does so feeling confident and proud.

I know one thing! My eyes tear and my heart flutters, and watching Jacquie, my baby, walk out of the voting booth as a smart, perceptive, open-minded citizen makes me feel so proud for her.

Loving Teaching!

I just love teaching! Last week’s session with teachers and teacher candidates from various universities in Canada and the United States reinforced my passion! During the week we gathered 20 people together to learn about the Tribes process and to figure out how it can work in the classrooms of each of the teachers represented in the room. Everyone left feeling ready and confident!

I realized it is not what happens during the workshop that makes such a big difference, but what happens in the weeks and months following. Making connections with each other and inviting teachers to rely on the relationships they develop is the real long-term benefit that is created. It’s what happens once we leave that makes these 3 days special. It is during that reflection period that I want to be available to help my students work through questions, experiment with strategies, and reflect on their practises.

Each situation is different. Each of us faces our own challenges. “What about that one child in my class who just doesn’t want to participate?’ “How can I deal with a Principal who really doesn’t understand what I’m doing?” “My students can be so challenging sometimes.” “What do I say to parents who want to know why their kids are ‘playing’ all day?”

We are meant to be together in this world. I am realizing more and more that successful people are those that seek out help and support from those around them. Productive and growing business organizations are those who work cooperatively and tackle problems and challenging decisions as a group. Collaborative skills strengthen as we practise coming together. And, as is the case with everything we do, the more we practise the better we get at it.

I like the way the members of our group consulted with each other. Many group members exchanged phone numbers. I heard plans being made. They insisted on sharing all of their email addresses. I made promises to follow up. I invited requests for on-going help. They suggest a follow up workshop. And for the first time, I consider the idea.

I am lucky. Many of my students do stay in touch. I am able to support them as they seek out volunteer positions, grapple with challenging course loads and relentless demands from administrators. I can help them deal with the disappointment of not getting a teaching job immediately and coach them through processes where they temporarily settle for informal teaching roles until positions become more numerous.

And I benefit from being with these students. I am inspired each time I gather a group of prospective teachers together. They are so excited to learn and I become so inspired too. They help me realize how much I like work, and even though there are so many other things in this world I want to do, teaching them is definitely one of my biggest joys. And they too, help me transition from one practise to another as I continue with opportunities to work, create and affect some sort of change in our world. Thank you teachers!

Thoughts in Sedona

We are very mindful of our homeward bound destination. The Red Rocks of Sedona welcome us again and absorb us into their energy. I am beckoned into the rocks and find daily solace in the warmth and embrace that they provide. I am confused. I feel untethered and loose. I am on my way home and I’m not sure what that means. There are changes ahead for me. I reflect.

This morning I made myself a mind map to help me make sense of the changes in my life. In my mind map of the “Important Things in My Life,” teaching represents a major bubble. As I go deeper in to what that means, I ask myself, “What do I want to teach?” Words like simplicity, getting along, learning how to learn, love of learning, reflection, back to basics, and new teachers are ideas that present themselves when I let my brain dump. As my life changes, I am faced with decisions that are serious and consequential. And the things that become important to me are simple and basic.

Being a great teacher is hard work. So is it challenging to be a good person. The kind of teacher I chose to be and the ways I chose to model what I teach is the most critical. It is not the what that becomes important. That we can get from books. Teaching is about the how.

I realize that the next few weeks will bring me closer to my practise of being a good teacher. My first workshop will take place almost immediately upon my return. I feel a sense of rhythm and joy as I embrace, once again, a group of teachers who might be inspired to recognize and appreciate their own potential. I truly believe that, together, we can make this world an even better place!

Prayer Anywhere

As I sit in the back row of the Jewish Community Centre of Sedona, the vibrant and clear voice of the female Rabbi reminds me of why I keep coming back to synagogue each Shabbat morning. “Look outside these windows and connect with God through your prayer.” She invites us.

The sculpted red rocks of Sedona are in front of me. The Torah is unravelled in preparation for reading. I feel totally embraced by this community as we enter the sanctuary. Rabbi, Alicia Megal makes direct eye contact with me and smiles. “Who are you?” she asks later. I feel like we’ve met before. So does she.

It is the introduction to the Shacharit Service; the service that welcomes the day and invites a new light to shine each morning. “Recognize the newness of each day. Through the presence of the Ner Tamid we are reminded of the blessing of light and the illumination of each of our existences and the achievement of new ideas.”

I realize that I am actually in search of sanctity within.

Finding synagogues on Shabbat morning during travel has been a rewarding challenge. It is a great respite from our constant movement. It is a sanctuary to welcome my prayers and allow me to share my gratitude for what I have, where I am, and all of those who share it with me.

I feel blessed to have the gift of prayer as part of my world. It gives me the chance to take myself away from myself and appreciate…truly appreciate this world. I imagine being successful at helping others find that gift too, and introduce them to realize that things aren’t so bad after all. There is always something good going on in our world. Sometimes we just have to go a little further, or perhaps in a different direction, to find it.

Still Looking

The ocean touches all of my five senses. Waves offer stereophonic stimulus. It surrounds me as I watch. It is vast.

The air becomes full of the salty smell of fish playing in their liquid world. It’s cold there. As the last layers of waves cover my toes I feel the contrast of its coldness with the warmth of the sun’s blanket.

I’m noticing how I seek out nature just to have a sense of calm. On the coast of southern California nature seems to be a little bit contrived. Coming from Arizona where the landscape is God’s creation, here it seems manipulated by human hands. Even beautiful gardens developed against the backdrop of the natural waters of the Pacific Ocean are intentionally planted to play with the blending of the sky and the sea.

The Yoganunda Ashram in Encinitas is a place for meditation and pause. We stop in the town for lunch and spend the afternoon. As I sit, I watch the water carefully and I become aware of my surroundings once again. People whisper with each other as they meander through the gardens.

I am left with the memories of the water at Fort Cochin. It calls out to me, the vivid vision of water meeting land, meeting humankind, meeting God.

It is rich, so rich. The food, the Yoga, my friends, strangers who become friends. As I travel further and further I fear my friends will become strangers.

Holy ground is everywhere. I remember it from the bridges of Rishikesh, or from the streets of Jerusalem. I notice it on the rocks of Drumbeg Park on Gabriola and the depths of the canyons in Arizona. I try to feel it on the streets of Los Angeles. Access to my spiritual awareness fails me. It gets lost in the bustling activities of California and in the busyness of every minute. The consumer mentality is everywhere and there is a bit of ironic cynicism. I forget to sit quietly and I sometimes miss the important messages of Nature. I strive to stay close to my self and to make the distance manageable.

The desire to be close to nature inspires my need for quiet and peace. I don’t want to try so hard. I just want to be comfortable in my surroundings. The Grand Canyon, so truthful and vast in it’s presentation is so big and yet so easy to take in. I am on my way back.

Learning Wine

Teachers know that when you really, really want to learn something, it is best to experience it. Learning doesn’t happen just from reading books. Nor does it happen just by listening to lectures. The more ways learners get to experience the new information, the more apt she/he will be to actually learn it.

We are travelling through Northern California in the Sonoma Valley. The land is covered in vineyards and there are wineries abundant. I am learning about wine. That can be dangerous!

We are visiting cousins of Paul who live in Santa Rosa. Andy introduces us to an enormous castle nestled in the town of Kenwood. The castle, built in natural wood and carefully constructed hardware, sits in the midst of acres of grapes growing vibrantly. All the vineyards grow for the purpose of producing wine. The wine here is available only through this winery.

Back in Canada, I have started to bottle my own wine. I go to a ‘wine boutique’ where I talk with Tammy or Will about the kind of wine I want to create. The first batch of 30 bottles was a basic cabernet sauvignon composition. It was hard for me to anticipate the taste and I didn’t really know how to play with the intricacies to make it more exact to the taste I want. The other thing about that first batch is we never really gave it the required chance to age. The freshly bottled wine requires, at least, six weeks to settle. We opened our first bottle within three hours.

The second batch has been sitting in our basement for 3 months now. And the third batch is waiting to be bottled when I return home. I have no doubt that with each batch I make, it will become better and better. The cabernet Sauvignon that is waiting to be bottled now has a significant quantity of cloves that I added to it for a unique flavour.

I am learning how to temper the taste so that each batch tastes more the way I want it to. That takes time because I rely on the small steps that move me closer to the ‘perfect’ taste. The more I learn about how to adjust the taste of the grapes as they ferment, the easier it will be to get to the taste I want. Learning takes time when it happens organically. Patience is necessary.

Mark is our teacher today. We arrive at Ledson Winery about 45 minutes before it closes for the day. Mark is really eager to help us. We are the only tasters on the property. I am interested in learning and Mark is interested in teaching. He also probably smells the probability of a good sell.

“Just tell me the name of the grapes, and let me taste the wine. Then I can learn to differentiate. “ I say to him. He provides.

Chardonnay, Sangiovhese, Cabernet Blanc, Sirah, Merlot, are all names of grapes. Each has its own characteristics. Everything influences the outcome of the final product of the wine. The nature of the soil, the labour of the farmers, the intensity of the sun, all contribute to the healthy growth of the grapes. And then what we do to the grapes, the various ingredients we add to their content, and the way in which we compose the wine are al factors. And time too. Monitoring the time the wine ferments is critical. Not too long, not too short, all within it’s own time…just right.

No doubt I learned a lot about wine. Information that I will eventually be able to apply in my own practise has been helpful. And the experience made it just a little bit more fun. There’s something about wineries that I find very comforting. The grapes grow. They are there for the takers. And they undoubtedly know they are being nurtured purposefully.

We taste 10 different wines as Mark talks us through the process. By the time we leave we are full, a little bit tipsy, and so much more informed about wine. And I understand. I need to experience to learn what I’m learning. What an experience that was!

Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco

While we were in San Francisco, our friend, Gerry encouraged us to attend the Sunday morning church service at Glide Memorial Church. We didn’t know what to expect. It was Sunday. That’s a perfect day to go to church!

As we approach the church, it is hard to avoid noticing the numbers of homeless or vagrant people that line the pavements of Ellis Street. Colourful, ragged and often filthy clothing hangs roughly on many bodies. Voices of different levels, speaking many dialects can be heard even when there is no one listening. Beautiful faces, contorted by drug use, mental illnesses, and hopelessness roam the sidewalks sometimes overflowing onto the busy, vehicle jammed streets. Through it all there is a feeling of salvation.

Inside the church people gather. It is an overflow from the streets. The wooden pews are packed with colourful people waiting for the service to begin. There is joy and laughter and song. The promise of lively, soulful, and energetic music lends to our anticipation. The service begins.

People are comfortable together, joining hands and hearts and voices. Eyes and palms raise up towards the sky. The music, played by an eight piece band and an 80 voice choir lift us all up together. The overhead screen projects verses of poetry and prose from Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King and Maya Angelou. There are photographs of Abraham Lincoln and Barak Obama and groups of people noticeably making a difference in their world by sticking together. We sing. We sway. We dance. We watch and we listen. We are truly together. We are all the same. We are all so different.

At first glance Glide is unlike the meditative calm of a Hindu Temple. It is not a synagogue where communal prayer joins with the Torah to hear Godly lessons. It does not compare. It is way more boisterous and active than Yoga, meditation and calm. And, yet, the energy created is still the same. There is a joy for life and an appreciation for joy. There’s a communal love for self, for each other and, ultimately for the Universe that provides for us all. I am present and here and content being with others in this place… now.