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My first Haibun Monday – Equinox edition

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I’m learning the Haibun form, which combines prose and poetry. I like this very much, since prose is my first love.

The challenge is to write a post about the equinox. Here’s mine:

Fall fell on its birthday this year in Connecticut. A twenty-degree dip in temperature in one day, cool replacing the wisps of warmth of a day ago. As if it knew its time had come and did not wish to tarry.

The sun is blocked out by clouds, so it is a grey day that we get half of. It’s been too nice for a lot of leaves to fall in the heavy rain: the trees’ green belies this sudden steely Autumn.

Darkness will do for the other half of the equinox. It is flexing now, beginning to feel its length stretch out before it, a host of days to darken.

Still I will balance
Rotating, tilting, spinning
Cycling through it all

Join the fun here.

Letting Go

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One of my favorite quotes from Tao te Ching is “Do your work and then let go, the only path to serenity.” I believe in this idea from my practical experience, and I’m definitely happier when I apply it to my job.

This school year, I have a particularly challenging class, mostly due to discipline problems. I found myself perseverating about this group. I realized I was stressing, and it wasn’t helping the situation at all. Losing sleep is not the path to serenity.

I had to change my mindset. What is “doing my work” in this case? It is of course attempting to get the class on track. Some time outside of the class is necessary to think and strategize what to do. That is all part of the job, so it is my work.

I had to let go of the stress and the stop the sleeplessness. I did this by determining my plan to adjust their behavior, and being intentional and clear about what I needed from them. Once I began doing this, I was able to let go of grinding the thoughts about this class, and just focus on my job when I am doing it.

Not surprisingly, not only have I started letting go, but the class has started getting better. Bottom line, listen to the Tao!

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Fallow

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I always believe my summer break from teaching will lead to creative productivity. Many years it has, and I have created numerous pieces, and started many more.

This summer was different. I just wasn’t feeling it. It took a lot of effort to even post occasionally here.

In my defense, I did format a book of poetry that I want to publish. Well, mostly format. When uploading books to Amazon, a .pdf file is a good format to use. Unfortunately, editing a .pdf costs money to Adobe, and the editing interface is clunky and the opposite of intuitive.

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Tao Lesson #3

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I’ve been thinking about these ideas a lot recently:

Prevent trouble before it arises.
Put things in order before they exist.
The giant pine tree 
grows from a tiny sprout.
The journey of a thousand miles 
starts from beneath your feet.

I tend to get a good idea, and rush into action with it. Although I get a lot accomplished, not having a clear plan can be a problem. When I hit a roadblock, it can take away my momentum, stalling the project.

If instead I had taken the time for a little planning, I may have anticipated the problems that could arise.

The second half is a tough lesson for me. Maybe I feel like I’m too far down the road of my journey to revert to having origin thoughts. I’m trying to see how this lesson applies to any new venture we embark on, even if it is an offshoot of something we have already been doing.

Looking at projects and problems as if they just began, or are constantly beginning. Original mind. I think this is something to try for, though I am not quite sure how to go about it.

Tao Lesson #3

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I’m going to do just one line today. This particular quote really resonates with me because there are so many examples of it in my life:

“He who tries to shine dims his own light”

I lived this quote before I ever read it. When I went to college, it was a time of freedom and evolution. I was sheltered and unpopular in high school, so when things started to go my way in college, it went to my head. I would become arrogant at times, until I noticed how much this turned off those around me.

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I am a tree for #tankatuesday

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This weeks challenge involves using this website to find out what tree you are. I am an alder. The characteristics that immediately caught my attention were “trailblazer” and “pathfinder”, since I spend so much time in the woods. 

Did I find this path?
It has been worn into soil
By thousands of feet.
Now I add my steps to it
My mind blazing a new way.

Although I often walk the same trails, they have a “same river twice” quality. I find that every hike is unique, and now matter how many times I walk the same path, my mind is renewed.

Have some fun and take the challenge here.