Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 09:31:59 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Random Thought: In The Image of....
I was just
reminded of a profound view of people on my campus that I
had adopted a while back but curiously had let slip from
my conscious thoughts. What would happen if each of us
believed--really believed and lived that belief--in the
natural and inherent sacredness and nobility and unique
potential of each student and ourselves, perhaps
believing--truly believing and living by that
belief--that each of them and each of us are made in the
image of God. My memory was just jolted by a new e-mail
friend who reminded me of the time I heard a priest on a
Bill Moyers PBS series express this view in a way that
had a profound impact on me. He asked us to imagine that
angels precede each person, walking before them as people
walk through the world, proclaiming; "Make way! Make
way for the image of God!" If each of us consciously and
constantly thought of this; if each of us believed this,
felt this, lived by this; if each of us clearly saw and
heard such ethereal messengers as each student passed us
campus, entered our office, came into the classroom,
stood before a bank of adminstrative windows; if we
consciously viewed every student this way as we advised
them, as we taught them, as we counseled them, as they
needed a question answered and/or problem solved, as they
wrestled with a personal or academic issue, I wonder if
it would make a difference in how we would see them, how
we would listen to them, how we would feel about and
think of and behave towards them. I wonder if it would
make a difference in whether we would struggle and the
extent to which we would struggle, to reach out and
welcomingly embrace each of them. I wonder if it would
make a difference in whether we would attempt to get each
student to believe in, search for, discover, and tap
their inner uniqueness. I wonder if it would make a
difference in deciding whether each of them should be our
personal, professional, and institutional top priority.
I was
deeply impressed with this thought at the time I saw the
show; I am even more profoundly struck now that my
new-found friend has brought this way of looking at
people to the forefront once again. Just this jolting
reminder has made a meaningful difference in my life
today.