I have been thinking today of the interconnectedness of life, sparked mostly by an interview of Louie Schwartzberg. Not going to give a bio here, but look him up for some of the most amazing nature films that you will ever see. His work reveals in vivid detail the dynamics of connection in our world. Life of all animate and inanimate species depends on our relationships with each other. Ecosystems are built around relationships of all elements within a given range — interconnections. Sometimes we as humans consider some things gross, some beautiful, but a salient point is that we, alone, among all of this creation can do exactly that: Consider.
Humans can analyze and make choices. In addition we can evaluate, appraise, judge anything, but beyond that, we can value, place a relative significance and worth on anything. Not belaboring this here, but I wonder how much we value our connections with nature. It would seem, in many cases, not that much. I know that people get tired of hearing about some things like the destruction of the rainforests. I think that’s usually because it’s something that they don’t want to face or to deal with. Yeah, I know the whole array of arguments and reasons, but the fact is that we are the only creatures that can reason extensively enough to figure out other solutions. Unnecessary destruction of ecosystems or plant and animal species are not driven by those who know themselves and listen to their hearts. What response can you and I have to nature? Well, we can start by acknowledging our connectedness and interconnectedness to life. We can walk out the door — at anytime — and just observe the elements of nature all around us. We can observe simple things — robins eating worms, crows keeping watch from the boughs of the pines and oaks, a bee sucking nectar from Asian lilies. Then, think about our link with them. Think about the fact that at the very least 33% of our food supply depends on pollination, according to Louie Schwartzberg. In my opinion, we just don’t spend enough time thinking about those sorts of connections. We have the ability, then, to take it past simple observations and think about politics and policy that can dramatically impact our world and the myriad of ecosystems that exist in it. Before I get too far afield, I also want to encourage you to think enough about our connection with nature to express it in some way — thought, word, and/or deed. Me? I write about it and speak about it, too. I read about those connections. I watch it and let the work of people like Mr. Schwartzberg wash into my soul. You can do any of those things and a thousand other options. My intent was to get to some more of Walt Whitman’s poetry, not to mention the work of most other American and British Romantic writers. That will come, though. For today, I will settle for having us think about how many evaluate the economic, political, and societal considerations when deciding to destroy ecosystem components. I choose to value and lobby against destruction. I will also settle for sharing my discovery of Louie Schwartzberg and be thankful for his work and our connections.
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Since I taught British lit for quite awhile, I can’t help but make reference to the Ides of March. Will Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar portrays a man, well, really, many men who move according to ego, erecting their own plans in opposition to the Spirit who moves in all things. Ends up bad — that’s why they call it a tragedy. That’s what always happens when humans are motivated by ego and not spirit, not their hearts.
When we move according to Spirit, we are just that — in accord. We flow with life, with nature, and with our own hearts as motivation and source — (not ego like Brutus, Antony, et al in Julius Caesar). Just this morning, I could not help but notice the flow of life all around me, the insistence on a natural progression. The birds insist that it is Spring — cardinals, robins, wrens, crows, doves. The new, green grass insists that it is Spring, adding inches in a week’s time. The weeds insist, too, as they pop up between sidewalk and asphalt cracks everywhere. The brilliant burst of color in the crocus, hyacinth, and daffodil delight our eyes. All of these were waiting for the right time to spring forth — pun intended. We hold, analogically, the seasons of life within us, and the life and visions and purposes that have been maturing inside, developing, feeding, gathering strength during dormancy — they are waiting to sprout forth. “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV). Now, for nature those times are set; for us, though, we are always in a cycle of our own making. When we move according to the heart, we transition through those seasons and prosper, and just like the weeds, grasses, flowers, and birds, we thrive. I saw a quote this morning by Brené Brown that I thought was relevant: “When you own your story, you get to write the ending.” I don’t buy the whole when you’re young it’s springtime, blah, blah, blah. Right now, for me, regardless of age, I am in a springtime phase, and it is the way I will write it — not based on anyone else’s evaluation. I am the only one who knows my own heart, and a new life has been building and is just now beginning to peep through, waiting to shoot new life in all directions. Whether anyone else sees that or not, I don’t care. My story. My ending. And I think I have a number of stories left to include in this anthology of my life. I’m in a springtime story right now. What season is the story of your life in right now? Who is authoring that story — your heart or your ego? I sincerely hope that you are writing your own ending according to the insistence of your heart. I hope that the grass and flowers and birds of your heart are insisting on making You known to a world needing You. Some educators, including former colleagues, might take some offense about my previous post. I want to make something clear: I don’t think that most educators put kids second. I do, however, think that many don’t make a conscious decision to put students first — not in words but in a phliosphocial practice. If they did, then this country would have never produced the test-crazed, frazzled, bedraggled education system we have today. I was in a position to just walk away, but while in the public school system, I acted antithetically to that system. I refused to give reverence, prominence, or reign to grades or tests or even curriculum for that matter.
Whatever we did in class together, I lead and coached to help them make connections with their own hearts and dreams and passions (a primary, conscious goal), providing tools in the form of academics that could help them to that end. It was not perfect, by any means, but the reality is that people deep down sense the energy, and my energy was to help them discover their own hearts and lives. That does not require tests. Don’t believe me? Well, I think about it this way. All my former students who are working in education or law or medicine or construction, transportation, whatever — they would have done it anyway without ever taking one freakin’ test. I hope that former administrators and current ones read this because my students did very well, and the only tests I ever gave were the ones that I was commanded to give because they were departmental and school-wide finals — stupid, as far as I’m concerned. But my opinion is of little matter. What I do know is that many of my former students have told me how our class inspired and encouraged them because of the relationship that we had and because they learned lessons far beyond literature. In other words, our class played a part in the big picture — couldn’t ask for much more than that. Let me sum this up. I simply want to make the very sincere point that I don’t believe that I was a better or worse teacher than anyone else. I did visit my colleague’s classrooms and learned from them. I knew that they had things that might help my students, and sometimes I wanted to know those things. I was different, though, and that difference was due to a practiced philosophy based on knowing that I wanted students to trust me and that I wanted them to discover their own hearts. That meant that periods of British literature, the writing process, and all of that took second place, but because they trusted me, they saw value in how our topics could help them grow as young people. They did not always realize this and might not have been able to communicate it. They experienced and lived it, though, and I did the same along with them. We were not learners of English, but we were learners of life together. My subject was not sacrosanct. They were. I am so humbled and thankful for the care my former students have shown to me. They expressed that care in response to a video that I posted, actually a video that was edited and readied for posting by a former student who is now a great friend. I asked for beta readers for my first novel. Over 60 are reading for me. Now, that’s not a large number, really, but the likes, comments, and shares are way more than that. How did this come about? I directly attribute it to my educational philosophy. I was only an English teacher who worked in seventh through twelfth grades, most of my years being at the high school level. My beliefs set the stage for the relationships that I developed with my students. Kids know if you care about them or not, and I guarantee you that if you don’t care about them as a person, they do not want to learn from you. What do I believe? Here are the basics. I believe that the primary goal of education is to do what the Latin root of the word indicates: to draw out of students all the immense talent, intelligence, interests, etc. that abide within them and connect them to the rest of the world, to the very universe itself. Education is a drawing out — not a dumping in of knowledge into those poor, empty little brains. If you believe that they come in empty, as an educator, you need to find another job or get it straight. Then, if I am to draw anything out of them, they must trust me, i.e., we must have a relationship if they are going to share their hearts (and heart here does not mean emotions but does include those). Another way of putting it is I need to be a friend with my students — not a hang-out-after-school-and-go-the-mall friend but a someone-who-can-be-counted-on friend — accepting of who they are, steady, reliable, fair. This leads to what my two primary goals were for each of my students every single semester, every year: I stated to them verbally and in writing that I wanted them to learn how to learn for themselves (metacognition), and I wanted them to learn to love learning, at least to some extent. They knew that I believed they could learn and that they would want to learn, which equated to this proposition: I believed in them, and they believed in me. I really did, and now on social media I see my belief in them has been realized by so many — OMG! Lawyers, nurses, teachers, mechanics, performers, electricians, builders, carpenters, plumbers, photographers. Many of them are enjoying life in these roles, and that means they are following their hearts, knowing self and then expressing self in their daily lives. Now, this isn’t all 2,500 + students that I had, but it is true for the approximately 800 who I know through social media. If people believe in themselves and know how to learn, they put it to practice. That is success. Many of them have more ambition, so they are not stagnating but moving onward and upward. Implied in this is my philosophy of education, and implied in that is the premise that education should not be teaching students to meet data-driven drivel, but it is leading them to know themselves, which leads to the need for knowledge so that they may express that self-identity in meaningful ways. They value education — not for tests or grades or class rank (extrinsic motivations) but for themselves (intrinsic motivation). I’ll stop here: 6,084 views of that video I posted. Search “Mr. DePung needs your help” on Facebook or YouTube. Forget the views; look at the comments — based on a relationship, based on philosophy. It works. I want today’s post to be short and sweet: I’m only 5’ 8” and Cupcakes. Get it?! Maybe a bit more about the utter joy that comes from knowing when I am in touch with the flow of the Spirit, which is the opposite of being depressed and stressed. It can come in a very short time and can be exceedingly sweet. It opens the doors to understanding, creativity, and achievement. Many catalysts exist to help us achieve this, more than I could ever think of sitting here. One, though, that I will mention is poetry. Sometimes the poetry is in the form of a song, but the one short and sweet piece I wish to share has shades of Dead Poets Society on it. In Walt Whitman’s “O Me! O Life” the narrator bemoans his existence as he looks through the filter of the ego and decides that life is useless — until he hears his heart, a heart that mediates with the Spirit. A question borne by the rationalizing ego wells up: “What good amid these, O me, O life?” His distressed soul finds the answer to a meaningful, significant existence when he pauses to listen to the sweet voice of his heart: “Answer/That you are here — that life exists and identity,/That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Short and sweet. Distressed by our own failings and the failings of others around us? Let the ego rage on in despair and denigration and know that it has a purpose but it can be destructive. However, we are still breathing and we are here to make a significant contribution. Let’s find ourselves — “life exists and identity.” Now, how will we express that identity? What will we do to give light, sense, and meaning to all around us? Just contribute that wonderful self that you are. Joy. Significance. Relationships. Purpose. Short and sweet — way better than a 5' 8" short guy and a cupcake! |
Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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