Thought from the Tao

I read from the Tao te Ching (Lao Tzu) when I'm eating at home (which I sometimes do...when I remember).

I liked this verse this morning (this afternoon--when I remembered to eat breakfast):

"You can readily recognize the highest virtuousness
because it never places itself on display.
You can readily recognize the lowest virtuousness
because it is always announcing itself.

"The highest virtue quietly serves universal needs.
The lowest virtue actively strives for personal success.
The highest morality serves common needs.
The lowest morality is self-serving.

"True benevolence
acts without intention...

"Natural persons are attracted
to substance rather than form,
to the nutritious fruit rather than the enticing flower,
to that which dwells deeply within,
rather than to that which clings superficially to the surface."

~Tao te Ching, verse 38

Hugh Jackman is so cool

I saw Wolverine last night. Part of me loves it and part of me really doesn't. I love that in all his bruskness his character always chooses good when it comes right down to it. Even when seemingly justified in his anger he pauses and realizes he still has a choice. (Watch End of the Spear! Completely AWESOME. Reminds me of this message.) I love the old man's reminder of this in the barn scene. And I love his girl. (How often do you get a non-dizty, non-slutty, non-naggy, down-to-earth female role? Awesome. What happens to her? She better show up again...=oP) This is one of the main themes I try to teach my 2nd graders--that you can step back and metacognitively see what's happening and choose to do something good, even when it seems hard. These are the kind of "Hollywood Heroes" I'm glad there are for kids these days. (Or for grown-up kids who...still...love X-Men...(me).)

I love what I feel is the main underlying message--summed up: that in any group of people there are those who choose to do good with their lives, and there are those who don't. Minorities cannot be blanket-statement judged. And shouldn't be blanket-feared, either. Misunderstandings and unfair judgements come from not knowing a person or people. The more we truly know someone, no matter how seemingly different, we will find that there are much more similarities than differences--much more to love than one might at first realize.

It was pretty violent though.

Anyway...I'm looking into some things I want to do with my summer and have found so many cool charities and volunteer groups. This morning I read in NY Times that Hugh Jackman started a contest on Twitter--people would let him know in 140 words or less why he should donate to their favorite charity. He ended up giving $100,000 to these two charities:

Well funded by Saks Fifth Avenue Chicago. from charity: water on Vimeo.

This somehow makes Hugh Jackman even nicer looking. (His eyebrows are so cool.) Don't you think we need more men like Hugh Jackman? Pretty sure we do. =o)

Double Take

So I'm reading this chapter in Building Successful Partnerships: A Guide for Developing Parent and Family Involvement Programs. This section just threw me...it's on breaking down barriers to effective parental involvement in schools...but could, with some minor replacement of nouns, be on breaking down the barriers to building effective relationships. At least, in my inexperience, what I would hope a good relationship would be based on.

Check it:
"...[these] barriers...inhibit the development of genuine trust and respect among parents, teachers and administrators. Open and honest communication is the key to surmounting these barriers. Communication is a necessary component in establishing site-based management teams that are based on mutual trust and respect. It allows PTA leaders, parents, teachers, and administrators to contribute to decisions that affect children. Those involved in the process must overcome their reluctance to listen to views of people with less or more status than they have, and of those whose experience may not seem immediately relevant enough to merit their participation in the process.

"Effective partnerships develop when each partner is respected and empowered to fully participate in the decision-making process. Parents and educators must depend on shared authority in the decision-making process to foster trust and mutual support of each others' efforts to help students succeed. It is crucial to involve parents, either as individuals or as representatives of others, in collaborative decision-making processes on issues from curriculum and course selection to discipline policies and overall school reform measures. "

I'd like to think this is possible in my school...as well as in other aspects of my life in the future!

I Don't Wanna Go Through the Motions

This song helped me get over myself today. I heard on the radio K-Love, of course, that a boy posted this on his Facebook page and vowed to 'give everything', then died in a car wreck the same day. 6 friends stood up at his funeral and accepted Christ in their life because of how this boy lived. Whatever religion you are, there is something for each of us to overcome and get past, push through, rise above, find purpose in.

I vow to live my life with no regrets! I won't get to the end of my life and ask, "What if I had given everything?" This life is it. We get one shot at it. I've got dreams to reach and people God puts in my sphere of influence to help, and energy to burn (less than I'd like, but energy, nonetheless).

My friend and I were talking yesterday. "You need to get out and get some of this sunshine," he said. "What sunshine? Nothing but clouds out there," I retorted, dripping with sarcasm and layers in my response. "There wouldn't be any light at all out there at all if the sun wasn't up. You're a teacher. You don't know that?" I stared out at the cloudy day and realized I was being stupid and he was right =o). (I love friends like that. Snap you out of your idiocy with one smart retort.) Even cloudy days...are days. With sunlight, even, if we will recognize it. What good am I missing in this experience by only allowing the trial to fill my view? Seriously. Get over it, VeNicia. God is Love, and Life is Good!

lyrics:
This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

'Cause I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)
take me all the way ('cause I don't wanna go through the motions)
take me all the way (I know I'm finally feeling something real)
take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)
take me all the way (I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go)
take me all the way (through the motions)
take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions

If You Like This Sort of Thing (And I Do.)

Neat-o personality test:
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

Take it! I've done it years ago and have changed since then, interestingly. This is a simplified version of the Myers-Briggs really detailed one. Do it. And tell me what you are! (I really want my school faculty to do it. I think it would be helpful for...the...organization...so cheesy. I put that on here and have since realized I am pretty much quoting the 3rd paragraph. I'm a dork.)

My Results:
Idealist Portrait of the Counselor (INFJ)

Counselors have an exceptionally strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others, and find great personal fulfillment interacting with people, nurturing their personal development, guiding them to realize their human potential. Although they are happy working at jobs (such as writing) that require solitude and close attention, Counselors do quite well with individuals or groups of people, provided that the personal interactions are not superficial, and that they find some quiet, private time every now and then to recharge their batteries. Counselors are both kind and positive in their handling of others; they are great listeners and seem naturally interested in helping people with their personal problems. Not usually visible leaders, Counselors prefer to work intensely with those close to them, especially on a one-to-one basis, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes.

Counselors are scarce, little more than one percent of the population, and can be hard to get to know, since they tend not to share their innermost thoughts or their powerful emotional reactions except with their loved ones. They are highly private people, with an unusually rich, complicated inner life. Friends or colleagues who have known them for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that Counselors are flighty or scattered; they value their integrity a great deal, but they have mysterious, intricately woven personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

Counselors tend to work effectively in organizations. They value staff harmony and make every effort to help an organization run smoothly and pleasantly. They understand and use human systems creatively, and are good at consulting and cooperating with others. As employees or employers, Counselors are concerned with people's feelings and are able to act as a barometer of the feelings within the organization.

Blessed with vivid imaginations, Counselors are often seen as the most poetical of all the types, and in fact they use a lot of poetic imagery in their everyday language. Their great talent for language-both written and spoken-is usually directed toward communicating with people in a personalized way. Counselors are highly intuitive and can recognize another's emotions or intentions - good or evil - even before that person is aware of them. Counselors themselves can seldom tell how they came to read others' feelings so keenly. This extreme sensitivity to others could very well be the basis of the Counselor's remarkable ability to experience a whole array of psychic phenomena.

Mohandas Gandhi, Sidney Poitier, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Goodall, Emily Bronte, Sir Alec Guiness, Carl Jung, Mary Baker Eddy, Queen Noor are examples of the Counselor Idealist (INFJ).

(So, Gandhi, Eleanor, and me. Huh. If I'd get my butt off the internet and doing something amazing, maybe...=oP )

Consider the Lilies

I love this song immensely. Because I got to sing in conference on Saturday afternoon (So incredible! I should blog about that...) I missed much of the morning session in warm up & rehearsal in the little theatre. I love watching the talks on my laptop in the bathroom when I get ready in the mornings. So I've been catching up. I had to stop and just listen when "Consider the Lilies" was being sung by MoTab.

I seek His peace. Somehow despite that, since getting divorced, I have periodic feelings of anxiety in my stomach like I've never known before. And I'm prone to getting down on myself pretty hard in my thoughts. I feel like I put up a pretty good fight--by working hard, reading & listening to positive & uplifting things, by trying to be anxiously engaged in good things, through lots of prayer, through music--symphony, choir--but it sometimes gets me anyway. I've been fighting it today, and this song brought me peace. It's always brought me peace. I have the piano music and though I sound nothing like this organist, it's even comforting to play it. There is an inexplicable power in music. I am so grateful for its influence in my life!

(This is the 2007 version--I like that it starts with a clarinet =o) I don't know how to embed the new conference song yet.)


"Consider the lilies of the field--how they grow, how they grow.
Consider the birds of the sky--how they fly, how they fly.
He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the birds in the sky
and He will feed those who trust Him and Guide them with His eye.

"Consider the sheep of his fold--how they follow where he leads.
Though the path may wind across the mountains,
He knows the meadows where they feed.
He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the birds in the sky
and He will feed those who trust Him and Guide them with His eye.

"Consider the sweet tender children who must suffer on this earth.
The pains of all of them he carried from the day of his birth.
He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the lambs of his fold
and He will heal those who trust Him and make their hearts as gold.

"He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the lambs of his fold
and He will heal those who trust Him and make their hearts as gold."

I believe He will.

"Not a Christian Nation"

I walked into school yesterday and was greeted by a lady I love who quickly told me that Obama had just said, "We are not a Christian nation" to a bunch of Muslims. Really? I thought? Yikes. Quickly followed by a "Hmmm..."

...I looked it up. You know, I love this lady, and I don't know what source she gets her news. But I'm learning that there is usually some left out context when I hear snippets like that.

Obama was in Turkey. He was not speaking to a group of terrorists and telling them we are not Christian.

Here are his exact words:
"One of the great strengths of the United States is, although, as I mentioned, we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation, we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values." (I'm sure there is even more context which would add to the understanding of what he is saying, if we looked more into it.)

I am a Mormon, and we are Christians (as defined by "a person who believes in Jesus Christ as a divine Son of God and Redeemer of mankind through the Atonement", though not "Christian" as falling under the umbrella of traditional Christianity and breaking off of break-offs. We believe we have the original gospel through modern day divine revelation.)

I do not feel threatened by Obama's statement. How is it different from our 11th Article of Faith?:

"We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience. We allow all men the same privilege."

Though, I do believe Obama could have better avoided the people who seem to need to take snippets and spread them out of context by saying, "Yes, we do consider ourselves a Christian nation. However, we also consider ourselves to be a Jewish nation, and a Muslim nation. We are a group of citizens who honor all rights to worship and what binds us together, despite our differences, is our commitment to ideals and values."

This would have seemed more unifying and would have complimented the strength of diversity that we celebrate in our country, and not have seemingly--to some--"abandoned" our Christian heritage.

BUT GET OVER IT! I mean, really.