The Past and The Present

Don't be in the past, either hurting or gloating.

Be in the present, living and loving.

- We all have so much to think about. Our minds are already filling up with all we have to do, and all the resolutions we want to keep this year.

This was my response to a friend wishing me well with my final semester of my masters:

Ahhhhhhhhhh! - classes begin 2morrow and I agreed to tutor 4 kids after school so I could pay for this semester - true test for me to close my eyes and envision a world of possibility, letting love emanate from every one of my cells to all those around me and all those back into me - (man surviving under harsh conditions – his evolution and very survival depends on it - and he can't do it alone)


We can't afford to live in the past, thinking about past disappointments or gloating about former achievements.

We learn from both types of experiences and move into the present moment.....the only moment where we have any power to make those resolutions come true.

There is no way to change the past by staying in it, but we can learn from it and change our lives in the present...right now, this very day.

And this makes every day a New Year's Day, and all the failures of the past can't change that. Our future is totally dependent on our ability to live in the present.

This was given to me by a friend. I think it goes very well with this write:

Go Over

Go Under

Go Around

or Go Through

....But never Give Up

- Unknown

*Here we're rockin out to the song at the end of a Bill Nye the Science Guy video....

And then getting to work on what we learned from it. Work Hard...PLAY EVEN HARDER! Our work is our play.

These pics were taken with my new digital camera - a Christmas gift from my students. I think they just wanted better shots of themselves :-)

They have given me something even greater, the gift of themselves. Together we have created a classroom of unconditional love, intense fun, and incredibly high academic growth. I may be tired by the end of the day, but every moment is worth it as I witness them changing into powerful, happy and independent learners.

Although my writings have decreased as my energy has dwindled, when I see the looks on our faces I have to share this....this......THIS is what IS possible. Can you imagine our tiny world being duplicated out over the planet? Our classrooms, work environments, and homes would all be incredible places to come to.

And it all can be, once the world inside of us changes.

It can happen. There's nothing stopping us but ourselves. We're all here to help inspire others and evolve our species. Just be yourself...play your part....and PLAY IT BIG! We literally change the world around us when we do. I'm just beginning to realize (trust?) how much I'm affecting others by giving them my best self. I know I am realizing how much they're affecting me.

Taneicea wrote me a letter over the break telling me all the ways I've helped her. She also gave me a ring. As I put it on next to the rings of my children, I realized she was part of my family now. They all are.

The fact that I love wearing the cap Skyler from last year gave me and still receive text messages from him shows me how much this is true (and not having to worry about how my hair looks is great :-)

A chance meeting with Belle from last year's class made me aware of something else. When you looked at me and almost shouted, "I'm not lying! I mean it", I was woken up from how much I'm still living in my own past, afraid to let anyone in. My heart opens out, but not in. Thank you Belle. I would love to share that story when I can create the time. I owe you for helping me learn to trust others again.

So until we "meet" again........Play hard today and give it your all! Focus on what could be versus what is. Get out of the past and into the Present......and change your life in 2008!

The Nagging Truth?

**This is a post I did on the students' weblog. I honestly have no idea why I'm putting it on here, except for this nagging voice telling me to. Since I'm no longer married, I'm assuming this voice is my intuition (I'm sorry, I was watching The Odd Couple (1968) earlier and laughed when Oscar told Felix that if he wanted to be nagged he'd get back together with his ex-wife).

It made me chuckle...........I only hear male laughter. Don't women have a sense of humor, or is it only when they're making fun of men? Another joke - let it go if you're miffed, and get a much bigger problem than wondering if I'm just a big, dumb male. I am in many ways, and that's OK. I believe in being the very best you can be, having people in your life that make you better, and surrounding yourself with others better than yourself........

...........Now I've gotten off track (but thanks to my married friend Amy (proof happy marriages do exist) for helping me not worry about unintentionally offending someone. It's my blog and I can write what I want, so there!)

So here's my post to Bridget. There's another one over on their site about a student who darn near made me cry with her reflection after testing (Belle). One minute I feel like Arnold in Kindergarten Cop saying "I don't have a tumor". The next minute they make me feel so happy I'm holding back tears of true joy. The post is worth checking out. (click here to read it)


I'm trying to hide behind Bridget to check up on some classmates to make sure they really are working. As you can see Bridget wasn't big enough to hide me, and the students saw me coming. Fortunately they were working, just like I hoped they were.

Why I'm writing is because I'm hearing a voice in me saying that as great as I know Bridget is, and as much as I've already been impressed with her this year.....I have this feeling that I still have no idea how wonderfully talented this person already is, and I tend to be able to see the gifts students have, waiting to be developed.

Forget the top 10% of her field, it could really be as high as the top 01%; she might just be a real world-changer.

**I have these intuitions about every student in the class, some stronger than others, some clearer than others, but they're all there. Please have patience with me while they connect themselves with the neurons they're looking for. A few I feel are close are:

The Amazing Amanda, Mighty Malcolm, The Light of Ryan (your eyes hold the key - I think I have to adjust my personality to flow better with yours, and I'm working on that), the Strength of Skyler, Sandeep's Hammer (like Thor's), and Quiet Genius (Zack).

As Bruce Lee said "Be water my friend". The meaning this has for me is to let the flow between you and I flow naturally.

Sofia Turns FIVE!

My youngest baby, Sofia Kathernine, is FIVE years old today. According to current statistics for healthy women she has lived 5 1/2% of her life already (average age of women avoiding cancer, etc is 92).

In honor of this milestone I am working on a counting-by-fives book just for her. I'm not at home to post a picture of her but I do have access to a few I can use to say Happy Birthday now.

Older sister Bella draws a collage of Sofia's life, from baby to teen to adult.


Dad's student Belle gives a BIG Happy 5th Birthday to the camera.

Belle is a wonderful student who adds so much to the classroom. I already can tell how much I'm going to miss her next year so I think I'll flunk her just so she'll still be around :) For a funny post about her, click The Only Ones I Pick On