Turning Intent Into Action

This week for Spiritual Journey Thursday, we are writing about Leigh Ann Eck's OLW: INTENT.

Intent is something I struggle with, especially when it comes to making time to write.  Take today for example. My intent was to get all of my grading done before I left school today so I would have more time to work on this blog post. It didn't happen. Instead, I spent my planning time writing a letter of recommendation for a colleague. Although I was happy to write the letter, it took considerable more time than I planned, and I had to bring the grading home.

The workload of a teacher goes beyond the school day. Every night, I pack my tote bag full of more work than I can possibly do. Yet, even though I know it's an impossible task, I lug it home anyway, with the intention of getting it done.

I get paid to be a teacher and I care about my students so I feel guilty when I take time away from school work to do something I enjoy-- like writing.

For several years, I've intended to write a collection of poems about a topic I'm passionate about.  I set writing goals and intend to keep them. But, somehow I always push writing to the bottom of my "to do" list, and it never gets done: an endless cycle of intention and failure.

So, I've been thinking about why this keeps happening. The answer just might be in that overflowing tote bag.  It feels like a metaphor for my life because I always put more in my "tote bag"  than I can possibly do.  My writing intentions are good, but I haven't taken the action necessary to achieve them.

A few months ago, I watched a program about the power of changing one thing in your life. I intended to try it back then, but...

Finally, the time has come. I'm replacing my large tote bag with a much smaller one. Instead of working on "school" for an hour each night, I'll work on it for thirty minutes and use the other thirty to write. My intention is set, now it's time to take action.  I'm ready to do this!

Spiritual Journey Thursday - Time to Be Still

This week we are writing about Michelle Haseltine's One Little Word: SELAH.  I wasn't familiar with this word until I googled it and learned that it means "a holy pause." 

 Hitting the pause button and being "still" is something I need to practice more often. I always feel like I need to be accomplishing something.  So I rush around trying to keep the house looking nice, make tasty meals, create interesting lessons for my students, answer emails, pay bills, etc.  We all do those things, but the most exhausting thing for me is that  my mind keeps rushing too. Even when I try to fall asleep at night, I'm always planning or worrying about something.  I rarely slow down enough to just "be."

Sometimes things happen to force us to slow down. That's what happened with last week's blizzard. It started snowing Friday afternoon and didn't stop until Sunday morning. We had over 30 inches of snow!  We were completely snowed in over the weekend, and schools have been closed for the past three days. So, we've had five days of being home.

I love the way a snowstorm quiets everything.  No where to rush to, no schedules to keep, time to sit and watch the birds at the feeder, listen to the wind, and enjoy the beauty outside my window. This unexpected gift of time gave me a chance to do a little reading, write in my journal, and think about my life. Now that the roads are clear, things are getting back to normal. That makes me a little sad.

At first, it was hard for me be still, but now I look forward to it. I need more "snow days" in my life, but they can be so hard to find.  Selah, from what I understand, is simply taking a little time to reflect on what's important.  I'm going to make an effort to find a few moments every day to sit in silence, to stare out the window, and to listen.

I leave you with this lovely poem from Snow Toward Evening, poems selected by Josette Frank and gorgeous paintings by Thomas Locker. It's no longer in print, but Amazon has some used copies.

Snow Toward Evening

Suddenly the sky turned gray,
The  day,
   Which had been bitter and chill,
    Grew intensely soft and still.
Quietly
    From some invisible blossoming tree
Millions of petals, cool and white,
Drifted and blew,
Lifted and flew,
Fell with the falling night.

-Melville Cane

Thank you for reading. I welcome your comments about how taking a "holy pause" has made a difference in your life.

Be sure to stop by and visit Holly for more spiritual goodness at Reading, Teaching, Learning.

JOURNEY TO THE PRESENT

This week for Spiritual Journey Thursday, we are writing about Margaret’s One Little Word PRESENT.

Staying present is hard for me. A born worrier, I’m usually ruminating over the past or  the future.  Too often, I’m stuck in the “what ifs” and lose sight of “what is.”  On top of that, I fill my days with so many chores, obligations, and expectations, that I rarely have time to spend on the activities I love.

These lyrics from an Alabama song pretty much describe my life.

I'm in a hurry to get things done

Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun

All I really gotta do is live and die

But I'm in a hurry and don't know why.

Just reading those words make me exhausted! 

It’s those moments when I allow myself to watch hummingbirds dart from flower to flower, admire a sunset, or sit in my rocking chair and write in my journal that my spirit feels lighter, freer, more alive. 

So, this year I’m working on slowing down a bit and enjoying the journey.  It will be a challenge, but I don’t want to someday look back at my life, and realize I wasn’t present.

This poem is a good reminder for me to be sure I'm in the picture. 

The Vacation

BY WENDELL BERRY

Once there was a man who filmed his vacation.

He went flying down the river in his boat

with his video camera to his eye, making

a moving picture of the moving river

upon which his sleek boat moved swiftly

toward the end of his vacation. 

You can read the rest of the poem here.

Wishing all of you a beautiful journey!

Holly has links to others who are participating in the Thursday Spiritual Journey.

Time to BELIEVE

My one little word this year is SIMPLIFY.  I usually take on too many responsibilities and have trouble squeezing in time for myself.  This year, I want to simplify my life and spend more time doing things that bring me joy. So,I made a list of activities I want to do more of this year. One activity is to blog more often. That’s why I am participating in Spiritual Journey Thursdays, coordinated by Holly at Reading, Teaching, Learning.   I am a very spiritual person, so this feels like a good fit for me.

Today we are all blogging about Carol’s OLW for 2016: BELIEVE.   I love that word. It’s so full of hope and possibility. 

Every Christmas, a restaurant in the town where I live, lights up the word BELIEVE in huge letters.  It’s glorious to see! 

I believe in many things: love, prayer, family, friendship, and the power of words. I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of words lately.  Words and the way we use them can give hope, repair a broken spirit, and heal a broken heart.  Sure, words can do harm too, but I want to believe that most of us would rather use our words to send goodness into the world.

One of the most powerful sentences we can say to someone is, “I believe in you.” 

Oh, the magic of that word!  Most of us have a hard time believing in ourselves, so hearing those words sincerely spoken by someone we trust can change the way we see ourselves.  Just imagine, if we all start believing in ourselves, we could achieve almost anything.   Together, we could change the world!

One of my favorite novels-in-verse is What I Believe by Norma Fox Mazer.  Norma uses a variety of poetry forms to tell the story of a young girl and how she is figuring out what and who she believes in.  I really connected with the main character and her struggles.

That's what I believe. How about you, what do you BELIEVE?

Loving Antarctica!

A wonderful benefit of being part of the Poetry Friday community is getting to know the work of a lot of different poets. I love this because I’ve discovered some amazing poets I might not have found otherwise. Irene Latham is one of the those poets. For the past several years, I've enjoyed reading her Live Your Poem blog, her poems in anthologies and magazines, and her first collection for children, DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST.  So, when I saw she had a new collection, I pre-ordered right away, and I’m so glad I did!

WHEN THE SUN SHINES ON ANTARCTICA is a gorgeous book.  The 15 poems are both playful and informative taking readers on a journey from the start of summer to its end.  As a teacher, I love the nonfiction information that accompanies each poem. Irene provides just enough information to tease readers into wanting to learn more.  A bibliography of book and website titles on the last page make it easy for further exploration. 

Wait until you see  Anna Wadham’s delightful illustrations. They are gorgeous and perfectly match the poems.  The details in each spread add to the fun of learning about Antarctica.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the poems, but I must admit, I do have a favorite. It is written in the form of a personal ad. Such a clever (and romantic) idea!  (I tried for over an hour to get the line spacing correct, which is supposed to be couplets, but blogger just wouldn't cooperate.)

Adélie Seeking adélie

Wanted: a guy with a white-ringed eye

who looks just like me.

An accomplished builder

who borders the nest with the best pebbles

to protect my eggs from dregs

of melting snow.

A boy with a pleasing bray

who will stay all summer.

A mate who will meet me

                               here

year after year

after year.

-Irene Latham (all rights reserved)

Wow! Don’t you just love that? Yep, I'm gushing, but this is a "gush-worthy" collection!  I wanted to know more about how this poem came to be, and Irene kindly shared a bit about its background.

That poem is the very first one I wrote for the collection! When I read about how carefully the female will select a male, I instantly thought of personal ads -- what would Ms. Adelie say? The publisher and I even talked about "boxing" the poem to make it look like a personal ad, but in the end, we figured kids wouldn't necessarily know that reference (who reads newspapers anymore?!). But you can see from the illustration that Anna Wadham incorporated newsprint into the art.

One interesting note: while I love the idea of Adelie's being lifelong mates, my expert reader said that it is not true of all Adelies. (Some return to the same mate, some happily pursue a new one.) Because I am a romantic, it's true of MY Adelie. And what a fun poem for upcoming Valentine's Day, right? :)

Many thanks to Irene for permission to share her lovely poem.  I’m thrilled to add WHEN THE SUN SHINES ON ANTARCTICA to my poetry picture book collection, and I can't wait for Irene's next book , FRESH DELICIOUS due out in March!

A special thank you to Tabatha for hosting this week's roundup at The Opposite of Indifference.

Celebrating Veterans Day!

Something that most people don't know about me is that I am a veteran. Forty-one years ago, I joined the Air Force. Our country was just ending its involvement in Vietnam. Joining the military was not popular at the time. Many people discouraged me from enlisting, but it turned out that joining the Air Force was one of the best decisions I ever made!

I grew up in a VERY small town.  Actually, there were only about sixty residents.  We had a small country store where we got our mail and some groceries.  My family struggled just to pay the rent and put food on the table.   Education was not a priority, and college was never an option. Life was about work, worry, and day-to-day survival.

I wanted a different life. So, when a recruiter came to my high school  to talk about the benefits of joining the military, it seemed like a good choice for me.

Here I am in my dress blues and fatigues.

The picture are pretty faded, but they were taken in 1974! In the bottom pic, I'm the short one  on the left.

The very next day, I walked from school to the recruitment office and took the written exam.  My highest scores were in communication so I was told that I could choose either journalism or communications as my specialty.  My first choice was journalism, but there was an eighteen month wait for an opening. Communications had an opening in just a few months. I wanted to get started before I changed my mind so I enlisted as a communications specialist.

Basic training was tough, but I was determined to stick with it. I loved being in the Air Force. I met people from all over the country, flew on air planes, visited big cities, and life felt like an adventure!
The only downside was that I worked a crazy schedule with long hours and had very few days off. When my son was born my priorities changed, and my husband and I decided not to reenlist.

I am very grateful for my time in the Air Force because it opened up many opportunities for me.  My VA benefits helped me to go to college, buy our first house, and provided medical benefits.  Most importantly, it was a pathway out of poverty. 

I'm proud of being a veteran, and I'm especially proud to have my poem "Dear Veteran" included in THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR CELEBRATIONS  compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. My inspiration for the poem didn't come from my own experience as much as it came from the men and women who risked their lives for our freedom.  Every year, as a community service project, my students write thank you notes to our veterans.  I wanted to do the same in the form of a poem. Veterans (along with the men and women currently serving) are our true heroes!

Veterans, this poem is for you! 

DEAR VETERAN

You fought
for our freedom. You kept our country safe.
Today we proudly honor you,
Hero.

-Linda Kulp Trout, all rights reserved



The poem is a cinquain, but I couldn't get the format to work.   : )

A "ME" Poem

This month’s DMC challenge came from master poet Lee Bennett Hopkins. The assignment was to write a “ME” poem.  I don’t often participate in writing challenges (mostly because of time),  but as soon as I read “ write about a simple moment in childhood that changed you in some way,” a memory popped into my mind and I wanted to get it down before it was gone. There's more I'd like to say in this poem when I have time. 

 Calico Kitten

Walking home from school
I found a kitten,
almost hidden,
beneath a bramble bush.

Lying on the ground
bone thin and shivering—
her tail was quivering,
as I wrapped her in my jacket.

Afraid she might die
I carried her inside—

When she licked
warm milk
from my fingertips,
I knew she would survive

Then she curled herself
into my lap,
and thanked me,
with a purrrfect
lullaby.

I found the kitten when I was twelve, and I've had cats in my life ever since.  Here is my Daisy playing with her toys. She has a basket full of toys, but she only plays with the ones that contain treats. She is very spoiled kitty! 

 

Be sure to check out Today’s Little Ditty for a wrap-up of the “ME” poem challenge, and you can read Michelle’s fabulous spotlight interview with Lee Bennett Hopkins here.

I hope you're as excited about autumn as I am. I love this time of year! Now, let's go visit Janet and the rest of the Poetry Friday folks at Poetry for Children.