Relaxation and rejuvenation have been my goal this summer. i think it's working, because i'm already getting excited about the new school year, and am beginning to design and tinker with my curricula with joy in my heart and tingling creativity.
However, i'm hoping to take my new habit of stopping, breathing, and being grateful through the whole year. My partner and i found ourselves at the beach a few nights ago. The commanding presence of the setting sun stopped us, sat us down in the sand, and invited us to watch the closing of the day, like drops of honey spilling over the mountain peaks and into the Sound, finally dissolving into the purple backbone of the Olympics. i felt love swell my heart in new places. I turned to my sweetie and asked, What if we did this every day? How would our lives be different if we watched the sunset every day this year? We smiled at each other and agreed to the challenge. Once we get our digital imaging system set up (oh, sounds so formal!), i hope to post our sunsets to this blog. join us in as many sunsets as you can!
Welcome to the Gigantic Field of Unknowing. Before i became a teacher, i thought summers were opulent breaks in which educators went sailing and drank salty dogs at two in the afternoon. huh. What do teachers do on summer "vacation"? i will attempt to explore this idea of an educator's summer with consistent entries exploring just exactly why those damn teachers get so much time off.
Here's an idea - if you can't make it to the sunset (especially when it starts dropping around 4pm this winter), take the picture anyway, wherever you are, whatever you happen to be doing at the time. That way you're keeping up with your project even if you miss a day or two. :) I can't wait to see the results!
ReplyDeleteLove your idea Crysta. Here's what the sunset endeavor has taught me: it doesn't make sense to pin Relaxation to an exact time of day. Hauling ass to catch the sunset is like those skinny people who push passers-by out of their way to catch the bus in time for yoga/serenity. i realized that placing a demand on the evening is counter to the goal of sitting still and dwelling in a breath, a moment, a gaze into a australian shepherd's little blue eyes. the sunset saga is not for me, but the intention behind it, to stop and appreciate, is. That is what my goal will be for the year, and most likely, my still moments will draw my attention upward, into the endless and forgiving sky, regardless of the sun's position.
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