why i love rainy days...

...for the same reason i love taking the rowboat out onto the lake. ahhh, my life's metronome. there is always movement in water, but a movement that never really seems to get the best of you. movement that paces you always appropriately, never negligently. so i'm sitting here in my room, with the window open, listening to the steady flow of rain outside sometimes hard and heavy, sometimes delicately delightful, but always moving - and i feel relaxed. i feel like reading, watching an old familiar movie, drinking warmth, wearing comfort found in an aged sweatshirt. trying to ignore the interruptions outside my bedroom door complaining of how the rain complicates the natural unfolding of the days events.

and i completely disagree.

maybe it is that when we are given a moment to let things slow down, we are the cause of complication in our efforts to work against what really is the natural flow.

so when i go fishing, i don't like encourage complication by the expectation of the catch. it is much nicer to row out a ways, pull in the oars, and let the lake carry you as it wishes. there is a reason why they have those nice little fishing rod holders on the sides of boats - man, take advantage of those things. let the water do the work for you. listen to the rain.

last thursday i taught a lesson on Emerson's Nature. the first few minutes i struggled to work against the natural movement in the classroom (i was most definitely NOT listening to the rain ha), trying to get my students where i wanted them to be - but then realized in doing so, i was inhibiting their true sense of BEing in that moment (which, ironically, was exactly what i didn't want to do...so not emersonian). so i took a breather, and started over. and the remainder of the time, we meditated. we all traveled to our happy places and it was FANTASTIC! afterwards, my mentor teacher gave me some important feedback:

"I have a teacher friend who swears by keeping her students multitasking. But I disagree. Give them some time to focus on one thing. This may mean that they sometimes get off task, but that's when you bring them back or move on."

so when i took the time to listen to the movement in the room and within/between students, i found they did a better job at listening to me as well. we were back on the same page moving in the same direction. a direction in part motivated by me, but more so motivated by the collective energy in the room.

oh how i love sharing the flow.