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Copyright © Louis Schmier and Atwood Publishing.
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 09:14:10 -0500 (EST)
Random Thought: What Is Commitment?
I came in from my chilly pre-dawn morning walk to read a short but
warming message from a student about whom I had been thinking for the past
couple of days: "I'm home now. It turned out okay. Wanted you to know
that I'm okay now. Thanks for being only one there to listen. And thanks
for your commitment to people like me......" She wasn't okay a few days
ago. I'll just say when she called not too long after the sun rose. It
was a call out of the proverbial "blue." She isn't even in one of my
classes this semester. I hadn't heard from her for a while. As I
remember, we hadn't talked all that much when she was in class a year ago.
Now, she was hysterical. She had been crying all night. I don't think I
was the "only there" for her, but at this moment she thought so and that
made it so, and I was there. I mostly listened, occasionally consoled,
calmed, helped her to believe there were others for her, and
ever-struggled to gently guide her to a counselor and futilely to overcome
her resistance. After what seemed like days but was only a little more
than an hour, she finally said she could handle her situation now, thanked
me for listening and for the few words of support and encouragement I
could muster. After I hung up the phone, I grabbed a cup of coffee, walked
outside, and sat quietly by the fish pond listening to the waterfalls.
As the soothing sounds and melodic movements of the Koi gently
massaged my muscles and soul, I suppose I could have said, "I don't need
this." Before I could think such disavowing, her mention of commitment
started to haunt me. I realized that the biggest challenge any of us as
teachers face is to maintain a sense of urgency, to pursue each day as if
there is no tomorrow, to create and seize every opportunity, to be
constantly on alert, almost taut, while being patient and calm enough to
stick with it through the thick and thin for however many tomorrows it may
take. Each of us, without exception, has within us the power and ability
to meet every challenge teaching throws at us. It's called our heart,
spirit, soul, whatever. If we focus it, aim it, we can stick it out
rather than get stuck; we can keep it up rather than get down; we can
continue to breathe deeply rather than run out of breath; we can keep
control of our lives rather and lose control over them. Our heart is a
tool, and powerful and essential tool. It becomes our reality. It
envelopes; it visulaizes; it shapes; it guides; it directs; it keeps our
balance; it will take you anywhere we want to go; it works every day to
find a way to make for us a world of teaching that we want. That takes a
constant belief in what we're doing, a constant faith in the value of what
we're doing, a vision of where we're going, a sincere confidence that
we're doing whatever it takes to help as many others help themselves as we
can, and a deep-seated trust in and a knowledge that anything worthwhile
takes time and more time and still more time. All--and that is a heck of
an "all"--it takes is commitment to an other.
What's commitment? Well, if I was a dictionary I would list:
attention, focus, vigilance, persistence, responsible, responsibility,
inconvenience, perseverance, endurance, belief, believable, integrity,
appreciate, capable, faith, faithful, uncomfortable, hope, respect,
respectful, expectation, meaningful, valuable, enthusiasm, fearless,
confidence, determination, gutsy, sweat, forgiving, hopeful, will,
willing, possibility, opportunity, responsible, responsibility, dream,
courage, desire, understanding, trusting, trust-worthiness, promise,
authentic, care, love, intentional, action, strong, determination,
searching, powerful, effort, sacrifice, painful, joy, time. And, after
having received this message, worth it.
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