School

"Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know." Pema Chodron

In my World Religions class, we just finished a unit on Hinduism. The ideas of karma and a continual cycle of birth, death, rebirth, and so on challenge my linear way of thinking. It is so unlike our Western ways, so unlike the Christianity that I am most familiar with.

I am 54 years old. Most of the time I don't think much about my age. I am blessed with excellent health. There is a lot going on in my life that keeps me very active, and requires that I continue to think in new ways. But the day I wrote the post "Where Did I Go Wrong?" I felt about 100 years old, although I have no idea what it feels like to actually be 100. A friend who saw me that day remarked how old I looked. The issue with my loved one is something that I have been dealing with one way or another my entire life. It haunts me, as the words of people who died long ago come back to me, as their faces go by. It is as if I need to learn something here that I am totally missing. The lesson is repeated over and over and over and over, but I just don't "get it." What am I missing? When will the light bulb go on over my head? When will I finally pass this course?

The lesson is a painful one, too. Very painful. You know how people who advocate corporal punishment for children say things like, "That's the only way she'll ever learn..." What is wrong with me? Can't I learn what I need to learn without having it beaten into me?

At this point I think I am not even interested in learning the lesson. I just desperately want this class to be over. I don't care about getting an "A" anymore. A "D-" would be fine, anything that is a passing grade would be fine, just so I can move on. That's my linear thinking coming into play again. I want to move ahead, move on, move forward.

But the circles keep spinning endlessly, to my immense frustration. This class never ends.

Susan

Time

This is fun and fascinating, definitely worth ten minutes of your day. Philip Zimbardo is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford University.

Susan

Driven to Distraction

When our kids are growing up, one of the things we can do to help them succeed in school is to create an environment at home that is conducive to studying and getting homework done. Some children need a little down time right after school. Others do better if they just dive right in. A snack before getting started may be a good idea, because you can't think on an empty stomach. One child might like to sit at the kitchen table, but another kid needs a quieter, more private place. The parent can also help by teaching the child to manage or eliminate distractions. When I was a teenager, I did my school work while listening to music. It helped me; to someone else it would be unwelcome distraction. I guess it comes down to knowing your child and how they best work.

As we face difficulties, it sometimes seems the problems might swallow us up. It is then that we need to be distracted in a positive way. A little down time playing a favorite game on the computer, a Saturday morning on the golf course, whatever you enjoy doing that will for a little while take your mind off the problem at hand. Sometimes it is good to be distracted.

Susan