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| 4 Treasures watercolor on watercolor paper 8/2012 |
One
of my favorite words as a teacher is equanimity.
To
me it means is treating each child the same.
What I do for one, I do for all. Give
the same level of care, giving, understanding and compassion.
Many
years ago, as an end of the year gift a family gave me a bracelet from Me and Ro with these Tibetan symbols on
it. This bracelet is one of the most
amazing beautiful gifts I have ever been given.
The symbolism of this gift coming from a family whose child I taught
touches me deeply. The words on the
beads are love, compassion, joy and equanimity in Tibetan. WOW!!
As a teacher how important are these
words.
I
think about these words and what the actions of these words imply.
I
felt like receiving this gift was a message from the universe about my path in
life. It was telling me how I should be
with children: the importance of creating a safe place for children to be and
grow, it re-enforced how I strive to be with children – neutral, gentle,
observant and a listener. It doesn’t
matter the age of the child.
Sometimes
I think I take myself too seriously, but then I think I am affecting someone’s
life. I am giving them permission to be themselves or I am causing them to
shrink inside. I am giving a child
permission to safely explore the world or I am saying the world is not safe,
don’t explore. I am giving a child
permission to express who he or she is right here and now or I am saying it
isn’t important for you to share who you are.
In my world I always choose to say YES:
explore, express be yourself to the
children and adults I encounter on my path.
It
isn’t always easy, I make it sound easy, it isn’t, but isn’t it great to be up
to a challenge. Challenges help us grow.
The
four immeasurables:
May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes,
May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes,
May all sentient beings never be separated from bliss without
suffering,
May all sentient beings be in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and
anger. From
brahma viharas ( a buddhist quote)
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