It's readily apparent who the real experts are. Listen to this wisdom…… Children will tell us how to raise them well. If only we'd listen….
Children want and need to know about your childhood: Tell me a story about when you were a child. –Stephanie Take me to where you grew up. –Rob Tell me stories about my ancestors. --Bobby
Quality time is a myth. Kids need you to spend different kinds of time with them: Talk to me about your day. –Alison Eat dinner with me. –Walter Take me somewhere special once in a while, by myself, without my sister. –Vivi Sometimes can you play with me instead of saying no? –Fran Read to me (even though I can read). --Amanda
Parents need to model the family's values: If you get mad at me remember to forgive me. –Suzanne Treat me like you treat your customers. --Karen Respect my stuff. –Elyse
Encourage your child's spontaneity and your own: Let me get wet in the rain. –Jessica I love it when you give me presents that are not expected. –Michael Let me go on the escalator that goes up when I'm going down. --Eric
Don't 'over plan' your kid's childhood: More FREE TIME!!! Don't fill up every minute of the day. –Christine I like piano, but I would like to stop, life is good when you're a kid so you should have some fun. (accompanied by a drawing of a kid diving into the water) –Alex Let me get into the sports I want to get into. --Ben
Help a child find her own voice: Let me make a mess when I'm doing art. –Addison Raise me right because I want to be someone in life. --Renadeau
Appreciate your child's efforts rather than focusing on his accomplishments: Be proud of my best. –Jessica Be proud of me even if I didn't get all the answers right. –Sach Tell me what I did right. --Amanda
Kids need to have a say in the family: Let me have a vote in the things we do together. –Kate If you have a problem, listen to me. Maybe I can help. –Dylan Let me make decisions that I think would be good and maybe they would be as good as the decisions you made for me. --Caleb
Kids need to hear the words "I love you" often. They also need love shown: Say "I love you," once in a while, not just when I'm leaving for school. –Amber Write notes to me on my lunch box napkin. – Jenny When I'm down, raise me up. –Eric
Friday, October 07, 2005
personal overload :
a perception by a person (or observer) that the information associated with work tasks is greater than can be managed effectively, and a perception that such overload creates a degree of stress for which the coping strategies are ineffective.
The impact of overload:
time is wasted
delayed decision-making
distraction from main task
stress – tension, loss of job satisfaction, ill-health, reduced social activity, tiredness
The impact of overload:
time is wasted
delayed decision-making
distraction from main task
stress – tension, loss of job satisfaction, ill-health, reduced social activity, tiredness
Thursday, October 06, 2005
The Law of Growth
(extracted from "You can have an amazing life in just 60 days "by Dr Demartini
I think of life as a tree: as a tree grows, its little sprigs reach out to get as much of the sun as they can, to acquire greater respiration and life. The branches that don’t aggressively push themselves towards the sun become shaded over and they eventually die and fall off.
As you grow, you may shed "leaves" as well; friends, acquaintances and colleagues. And you build new friendships as you drop the old ones along your journey of life. Yet you may be afraid to discard your past and instead hold on to those around you when you really need to let them go and move on.
Those who start out "in sync" – sharing the same level of ambition and having common goals and interests – may find they’ve diverged sometime later. We all have plateaus in life when it’s best to stay put, just as we all have periods of intense drive and focus. It’s important to recognise when you have fallen out of sync with someone. If you want to expand and go further in life, you may have to leave behind some of those less ambitious people who aren’t willing to continue to grow – at least not in the direction that you desire to. It’s wise to associate with individuals you resonate with, those who are where you’d love to be.
Sometimes people let their fears block progress and imagine they are going to lose their best friends. If you have difficulty letting go of a relationship, remember that you may greatly honour yourself and the other person by allowing you both to evolve. You don’t serve the world by shrinking, but by shining and allowing others to have the freedom – as you let yourself free by developing and becoming the person you are truly capable of being. Let yourself shed your leaves and sprout new ones. You may have to rake occasionally, but with every spring comes a new surge of glorious growth.
I think of life as a tree: as a tree grows, its little sprigs reach out to get as much of the sun as they can, to acquire greater respiration and life. The branches that don’t aggressively push themselves towards the sun become shaded over and they eventually die and fall off.
As you grow, you may shed "leaves" as well; friends, acquaintances and colleagues. And you build new friendships as you drop the old ones along your journey of life. Yet you may be afraid to discard your past and instead hold on to those around you when you really need to let them go and move on.
Those who start out "in sync" – sharing the same level of ambition and having common goals and interests – may find they’ve diverged sometime later. We all have plateaus in life when it’s best to stay put, just as we all have periods of intense drive and focus. It’s important to recognise when you have fallen out of sync with someone. If you want to expand and go further in life, you may have to leave behind some of those less ambitious people who aren’t willing to continue to grow – at least not in the direction that you desire to. It’s wise to associate with individuals you resonate with, those who are where you’d love to be.
Sometimes people let their fears block progress and imagine they are going to lose their best friends. If you have difficulty letting go of a relationship, remember that you may greatly honour yourself and the other person by allowing you both to evolve. You don’t serve the world by shrinking, but by shining and allowing others to have the freedom – as you let yourself free by developing and becoming the person you are truly capable of being. Let yourself shed your leaves and sprout new ones. You may have to rake occasionally, but with every spring comes a new surge of glorious growth.
Don't do everything
Michael Fullen in What’s Worth Fighting for in the Principalship says for us as school leaders, :……., not one "old" responsibility goes away.
When asked, "Do you think the principal can effectively fulfill all the responsibilities assigned to him/her?" 91% of principals responded, "No." Why are we not surprised? But that dark point is exactly where hope begins to shine, Fullen argues. "There is no point in lamenting the fact that the system is unreasonable, and no percentage in waiting around for it to become more reasonable. It won’t."
Fullen’s thesis is this: To do everything is impossible. True school leaders, he asserts, will reframe their role to design continuous learning for everyone in the school organization.
When asked, "Do you think the principal can effectively fulfill all the responsibilities assigned to him/her?" 91% of principals responded, "No." Why are we not surprised? But that dark point is exactly where hope begins to shine, Fullen argues. "There is no point in lamenting the fact that the system is unreasonable, and no percentage in waiting around for it to become more reasonable. It won’t."
Fullen’s thesis is this: To do everything is impossible. True school leaders, he asserts, will reframe their role to design continuous learning for everyone in the school organization.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Looking Forward Part 2
Have you ever looked forward to something that you felt was rather special? Then, when you arrive at the destination, you get the feeling that the event will work out better than you’d hoped? Only to have it crash down around you, seemingly magnifying the disappointment?
I’ll volunteer that this has also happened to me recently. It’s bitter and its nasty, but I hope it serves a purpose – to be a little bit more restrained, to learn from what happened to minimise the emotional damage next time, to be incorporated into “experience” to make a better person.
I’m not enthusiastic enough to wish that it happens to all of us more often. Rather, may it be more palatable when it does.
I’ll volunteer that this has also happened to me recently. It’s bitter and its nasty, but I hope it serves a purpose – to be a little bit more restrained, to learn from what happened to minimise the emotional damage next time, to be incorporated into “experience” to make a better person.
I’m not enthusiastic enough to wish that it happens to all of us more often. Rather, may it be more palatable when it does.
The Artform of Leading People
Join Mark McKeon (MC) as we explore "A Juggling Act: The Artform of Leading People":
People Leadership
Keeping your eye on the ball or focussing your vision
Sharing the passion to re-ignite the flame
People Welfare
The problem is worth solving, valuing others, perspectives and decisions
The health benefits of a balanced act
Building trust, taking risks with relationships
People Management
Forums for voice, not another committee
Managing staff in small schools
The team approach in the mature workforce
People Leadership
Keeping your eye on the ball or focussing your vision
Sharing the passion to re-ignite the flame
People Welfare
The problem is worth solving, valuing others, perspectives and decisions
The health benefits of a balanced act
Building trust, taking risks with relationships
People Management
Forums for voice, not another committee
Managing staff in small schools
The team approach in the mature workforce
A Simpler Way
by Margaret Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers
There is a simpler way to organise human endeavour.
It requires a new way of being in the world.
It requires being in the world without fear.
Being in the world with play and creativity.
Seeking after what's possible.
Being willing to learn and be surprised.
This simpler way to organise human endeavour
requires a belief that the world is inherently orderly.
The world seeks organisation.
It does not need us humans to organise it.
This simpler way summons forth what is best about us.
It asks us to understand human nature differently,
more optimistically.
It identifies us as creative.
It acknowledges that we seek after meaning.
It asks us to be less serious, yet more purposeful,
about our work and our lives.
It does not separate play from the nature of being.
The world of a simpler way is a world we already know.
We may not have seen it clearly,
but we have been living in it all our lives.
It is a world that is more welcoming,
more hospitable to our humanness.
Who we are and what is best about us can more easily flourish.
The world of a simpler way has a natural and spontaneous tendency toward organisation.
It seeks order.
Whatever chaos is present at the start,
when elements combine, systems of organisation appear.
Life is attracted to order --
order gained through wandering explorations
into new relationships and new possibilities.
There is a simpler way to organise human endeavour.
It requires a new way of being in the world.
It requires being in the world without fear.
Being in the world with play and creativity.
Seeking after what's possible.
Being willing to learn and be surprised.
This simpler way to organise human endeavour
requires a belief that the world is inherently orderly.
The world seeks organisation.
It does not need us humans to organise it.
This simpler way summons forth what is best about us.
It asks us to understand human nature differently,
more optimistically.
It identifies us as creative.
It acknowledges that we seek after meaning.
It asks us to be less serious, yet more purposeful,
about our work and our lives.
It does not separate play from the nature of being.
The world of a simpler way is a world we already know.
We may not have seen it clearly,
but we have been living in it all our lives.
It is a world that is more welcoming,
more hospitable to our humanness.
Who we are and what is best about us can more easily flourish.
The world of a simpler way has a natural and spontaneous tendency toward organisation.
It seeks order.
Whatever chaos is present at the start,
when elements combine, systems of organisation appear.
Life is attracted to order --
order gained through wandering explorations
into new relationships and new possibilities.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Looking Forward Part 1
Have you ever lost something that you valued? A person, an item, an event – whatever? For s number of years you do without the thing in question, looking back on it fondly. Then, when for no discernable reason, it re-appears, better than you ever remember it.
I’d have to say that such an event is nothing short of remarkable. I’ll volunteer that this happened to me recently. The actual event is immaterial. That it happened is the point.
May it happen to all of us more often.
Fundamentals
Author Michael Fullen outlines four fundamentals of our jobs: curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional culture.
We’re talking a far cry from the old "buildings, beans, and busses" fundamentals of principal-as-manager. But if you haven’t delegated some managerial tasks, delegate already, and do your real job as designer and role model for maximum teaching and learning.
That, according to Fullen, is what’s worth fighting for: "not system change, not change in others around us, but change in ourselves." Ten guidelines—all working together—are Fullen’s prescription for individual action:
Avoid "if only" statements, externalizing the blame and other forms of wishful thinking.
Start small, think big. Don’t overplan or overmanage.
Focus on fundamentals: curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional culture.
Practice fearlessness and other forms of risk taking.
Embrace diversity and resistance while empowering others.
Build a vision in relation to both goals and change processes.
Decide what you are not going to do.
Build allies.
Know when to be cautious.
Give up the search for the "silver bullet."
We’re talking a far cry from the old "buildings, beans, and busses" fundamentals of principal-as-manager. But if you haven’t delegated some managerial tasks, delegate already, and do your real job as designer and role model for maximum teaching and learning.
That, according to Fullen, is what’s worth fighting for: "not system change, not change in others around us, but change in ourselves." Ten guidelines—all working together—are Fullen’s prescription for individual action:
Avoid "if only" statements, externalizing the blame and other forms of wishful thinking.
Start small, think big. Don’t overplan or overmanage.
Focus on fundamentals: curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional culture.
Practice fearlessness and other forms of risk taking.
Embrace diversity and resistance while empowering others.
Build a vision in relation to both goals and change processes.
Decide what you are not going to do.
Build allies.
Know when to be cautious.
Give up the search for the "silver bullet."
Old friends
Two elderly ladies had been friends for many decades.
Over the years, they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards.
One day, they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me .. I know we've been friends for a long time....but I just can't think of your name! I've thought and thought, but I can't remember it. Please tell me what your name is."
Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes she just stared and glared at her. Finally she said, "How soon do you need to know?"
Over the years, they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards.
One day, they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me .. I know we've been friends for a long time....but I just can't think of your name! I've thought and thought, but I can't remember it. Please tell me what your name is."
Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes she just stared and glared at her. Finally she said, "How soon do you need to know?"
Monday, October 03, 2005
BBQ and man
BBQ, a real man's cooking...It's the only type of cooking a real man will do.
When a man volunteersto do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, vegetables, and dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray alongwith the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the manwho is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.Here comes the important part:
(4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.More routine....
(5) The woman goes inside to organise the plates and cutlery.
(6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. Hethanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals withthe situation.Important again:
(7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.More routine.....
(8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins,sauces, and brings them to the table.
(9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.And most important of all:
(10) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off." And, uponseeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women....
When a man volunteersto do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, vegetables, and dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray alongwith the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the manwho is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.Here comes the important part:
(4) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.More routine....
(5) The woman goes inside to organise the plates and cutlery.
(6) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is burning. Hethanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he deals withthe situation.Important again:
(7) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.More routine.....
(8) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins,sauces, and brings them to the table.
(9) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.And most important of all:
(10) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.
(11) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed "her night off." And, uponseeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women....
Random quotes
Michael Fullen says: "Believe me, there’s no "vision-building" process on the planet equal to the principal who models, in every decision and action, a firm commitment to maximum teaching and learning."
"If a child lives with approval, he learns to live with himself." Dorothy Law Nolte
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. Wiliam Butler Yeats
"If a child lives with approval, he learns to live with himself." Dorothy Law Nolte
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. Wiliam Butler Yeats
Exercise Programme
Exercise routine if you're over 25.
You might want to take it easy at first, then do it faster as you become more proficient.
It may be too strenuous for some. Please, always consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.
SCROLL DOWN …………………………
NOW SCROLL UP.
That's enough for the first day. Have some chocolate.
You might want to take it easy at first, then do it faster as you become more proficient.
It may be too strenuous for some. Please, always consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.
SCROLL DOWN …………………………
NOW SCROLL UP.
That's enough for the first day. Have some chocolate.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Things to think about
1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.
2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.
2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.
Children
GOD CREATED CHILDREN (AND IN THE PROCESS GRANDCHILDREN)
To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students...here is something to make you chuckle. Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children.
After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing he said was "DON'T!"
"Don't what?" Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve... we have forbidden fruit!!!!!"
"No Way!"
"Yes way!"
"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.
"Why"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!" God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants.
A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was angry! "Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" God asked.
"Uh huh," Adam replied.
"Then why did you?" said the Father.
"I don't know," said Eve.
"She started it!" Adam said.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!"
Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.
BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY! If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?
To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students...here is something to make you chuckle. Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children.
After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing he said was "DON'T!"
"Don't what?" Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve... we have forbidden fruit!!!!!"
"No Way!"
"Yes way!"
"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.
"Why"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!" God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants.
A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was angry! "Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" God asked.
"Uh huh," Adam replied.
"Then why did you?" said the Father.
"I don't know," said Eve.
"She started it!" Adam said.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!"
Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.
BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY! If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?
The A to Z of Achieving and Being
Dare to...
Ask For What You Want.
Believe in Yourself.
Change Your Mind.
Do What You Love.
Enjoy Each And Every Day.
Follow Your Heart's Desire.
Give More Than You Receive.
Have a Sense of Humour.
Insist On Being Yourself.
Join In More.
Kiss and Make up.
Love and Be Loved.
Make New Friends.
Nurture Your Spirit.
Overcome Adversity.
Play More.
Question Conformity.
Reach for the Stars.
Speak Your Truth.
Take Personal Responsibility.
Understand More, Judge Less.
Volunteer Your Time.
Walk Through Fear.
X-perience The Moment.
Yearn for Grace.
be Zany.
-
Written by Meiji Stewart
Ask For What You Want.
Believe in Yourself.
Change Your Mind.
Do What You Love.
Enjoy Each And Every Day.
Follow Your Heart's Desire.
Give More Than You Receive.
Have a Sense of Humour.
Insist On Being Yourself.
Join In More.
Kiss and Make up.
Love and Be Loved.
Make New Friends.
Nurture Your Spirit.
Overcome Adversity.
Play More.
Question Conformity.
Reach for the Stars.
Speak Your Truth.
Take Personal Responsibility.
Understand More, Judge Less.
Volunteer Your Time.
Walk Through Fear.
X-perience The Moment.
Yearn for Grace.
be Zany.
-
Written by Meiji Stewart
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Negative People ...
To get what they want, Dr. Mike Weber says negative people depend on the following:
* Attention -- Even negative attention is better than no attention.
* Fear -- The angrier and more negative a person is, the more fearful we are of confronting them; thus, we avoid disagreements with them. The negative person wins by not being called on their actions or attitude.
* Guilt -- Negative people try to raise the level of guilt by making you feel bad about not seeing the world as they do or not having done something they think you should have.
* Intimidation -- Negative people use their attitudes to intimidate and manipulate. You don't want them to talk negatively about you.
* Sense of power -- There are people who love to criticize others. It makes them feel good and gives them a sense of power. The more negatively people react to their criticism, the more powerful they feel.
* Elicit sympathy to add drama to their lives -- Most negative people are craving affection and comfort. Many times, their lives lack the excitement they want; negativity brings drama to their existence.
* Response -- Sometimes negative people say and do things just to "get your goat." If they elicit a negative response, it brings them pleasure and reinforces their notion that the world is negative.
* Attention -- Even negative attention is better than no attention.
* Fear -- The angrier and more negative a person is, the more fearful we are of confronting them; thus, we avoid disagreements with them. The negative person wins by not being called on their actions or attitude.
* Guilt -- Negative people try to raise the level of guilt by making you feel bad about not seeing the world as they do or not having done something they think you should have.
* Intimidation -- Negative people use their attitudes to intimidate and manipulate. You don't want them to talk negatively about you.
* Sense of power -- There are people who love to criticize others. It makes them feel good and gives them a sense of power. The more negatively people react to their criticism, the more powerful they feel.
* Elicit sympathy to add drama to their lives -- Most negative people are craving affection and comfort. Many times, their lives lack the excitement they want; negativity brings drama to their existence.
* Response -- Sometimes negative people say and do things just to "get your goat." If they elicit a negative response, it brings them pleasure and reinforces their notion that the world is negative.
Random quotes
"Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs." Malcom Stevenson Forbes
"Wise people learn when they can, fools learn when they must".
"Don't be afraid to fail. If you don't fail, that means you aren't trying new ideas, new lessons, new approaches, strategies, and techniques."
"Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all you were intended to be." Charlie "Tremendous" Jones
"Wise people learn when they can, fools learn when they must".
"Don't be afraid to fail. If you don't fail, that means you aren't trying new ideas, new lessons, new approaches, strategies, and techniques."
"Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all you were intended to be." Charlie "Tremendous" Jones
Humility
(Taken from Inner Beauty A Book of Virtues by Anthea Church)
Humility dismisses nothing, but takes even small things seriously. It is the recognition that whatever is in life and is in front of you is to be respected as something that will take you forward; that inside big things there is sometimes little, but inside little there is often enormity. Humility puts a hand out to nothing extra, but simply takes what's there. Whether that be food or clothing or understanding. ….sometimes there is a lot available and sometimes only little. It doesn't matter. Even when you understand nothing, there is no worry, for in humility there is trust, everything will come anyway, at the right time. And knowledge mistimed is as dangerous as ignorance.
Humility is also a basis on which things happen: a carefulness and simple being to create from. For in it there is no expectation of brilliance and therefore accomplishment comes more naturally, unthreatened by what will be said or thought by others. A humble person is lovely to be with, for beside them one is at one's best. Yet, because they respect themselves, nothing done belittles them, but further speaks of their beauty because the achievement is half theirs already. Every creative task needs humility behind it, for humility is plainness and on plainness the colours and shape of the work are clear to see and mould. If a new world to come, it would need this quiet basis to form itself on that could stay the same whilst things were changing. Humility is special, therefore, and yet, at times, its disguise is so ordinary. For when something valuable is forming, ordinariness and noise are sometimes needed to distract attention as it grows. The humility in a person, carefree of reputation, can wear the disguise easily so that nothing of the real work is seen.
Humility is the willingness to be used in any way that's necessary, however out of character it may seem; for, in humility, individuality has been exchanged for the task it is involved in. Quietness in this case, is an unquestioning acceptance of whatever has to be done. Humility is rare because to have it, you have to want nothing. If you do have it, you get everything.
Humility dismisses nothing, but takes even small things seriously. It is the recognition that whatever is in life and is in front of you is to be respected as something that will take you forward; that inside big things there is sometimes little, but inside little there is often enormity. Humility puts a hand out to nothing extra, but simply takes what's there. Whether that be food or clothing or understanding. ….sometimes there is a lot available and sometimes only little. It doesn't matter. Even when you understand nothing, there is no worry, for in humility there is trust, everything will come anyway, at the right time. And knowledge mistimed is as dangerous as ignorance.
Humility is also a basis on which things happen: a carefulness and simple being to create from. For in it there is no expectation of brilliance and therefore accomplishment comes more naturally, unthreatened by what will be said or thought by others. A humble person is lovely to be with, for beside them one is at one's best. Yet, because they respect themselves, nothing done belittles them, but further speaks of their beauty because the achievement is half theirs already. Every creative task needs humility behind it, for humility is plainness and on plainness the colours and shape of the work are clear to see and mould. If a new world to come, it would need this quiet basis to form itself on that could stay the same whilst things were changing. Humility is special, therefore, and yet, at times, its disguise is so ordinary. For when something valuable is forming, ordinariness and noise are sometimes needed to distract attention as it grows. The humility in a person, carefree of reputation, can wear the disguise easily so that nothing of the real work is seen.
Humility is the willingness to be used in any way that's necessary, however out of character it may seem; for, in humility, individuality has been exchanged for the task it is involved in. Quietness in this case, is an unquestioning acceptance of whatever has to be done. Humility is rare because to have it, you have to want nothing. If you do have it, you get everything.
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