Yesterday in church I had an epiphany. So as to alleviate any confusion about the actual celebration of Epiphany I looked up the definition.
epiphany is defined by dictionary.com as "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience."
So, my commonplace occurrence or simple experience? Listening to a nice sermon by Pastor Chris. There was one simple statement that he made and WHAMO. I'm in a full blown existential, life changing, thought tangent.
The statement was really more of a question. The basic idea was about the difference between needing to be taught a new concept or needing to simply be reminded of lessons already learned.
Now, in the context of the sermon, this was a deep question regarding faith lessons. However, my mind went to my job. I am a teacher. A choir director actually. Do I actually teach anything significant? Or am I constantly reminding students of things they are perfectly capable of grasping on their own. Especially since most of what I remind them constantly about are concepts I know they've been hearing since grade school.
For example......when to stop singing a specific note. Its easy enough? Whole notes= 4 beats. If the word you are singing has a "t" at the end of it, put the "t" on at the end of 4 beats. Easy? You'd be amazed at how many times I say something along the lines of "4 counts!!! 4 counts!!! Didn't I tell you every day for the past 3 months that that note lasts for 4 counts???" Now grant it, I've only gone off on this rant because I didn't hear said "t" and I'm tired of saying the same things over and over. But in my head I've convinced myself that either I stink as a teacher or they are lazy or morons. Or whatever. None of which are true.
Reality says, though, that these kids are intelligent, talented students. And I have somehow watered down my expectations for them. In turn they subconsciously know they don't have to think for themselves since I'll be screaming what to do later.
I challenged them today to not let this pattern continue. They seemed eager to comply. Now that I think about it, I should also apologize to them for treating them like that. Not that I'm cruel about it. I should also ask them to hold me accountable for treating them better. Because really....who wants to have such low expectations for life?
I really want to teach them new and exciting things about music. Not remind them constantly of things they definitely know. There is so much more to be enjoyed about the music we learn, I need to open their eyes and ears to those possibilities. Not hammer them over the head with elementary nuggets of knowledge that they've already acquired.
So...what percentage of our lives is spent needing to be reminded of lessons already learned and what percentage is spent learning new things?
Depressing isn't it? Or is it inspiring? Have I been inspired or kicked in the pants? Who knows...either way, I've got to look at life with this new perspective or I'll be kicking myself in the pants for slipping into old habits.
Happy Monday.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Yard Sale Madness
Welcome to the first episode of.....Who decided that was a good idea?
Today's topic......yardsales. Who came up with that idea? Pile all of your crap onto a few neatly arranged tables, slap on a sticker or sign and see who shows up.
Today marks the beginning of the "world's longest yardsale." or something like that. It goes from Covington, KY to somewhere in the Gulf of New Mexico supposedly. That's what my husband said anyway, I've never cared enough to read about it.
Yardsales have been somewhat of a mystery to me since I was a kid. My mother and grandmother LOVED to go to them. They dragged me and a few of my cousins along with them. It was always way too hot and I was never allowed to buy anything. Half of the time I never got out of the car and ended up fighting with my cousin Charlie or my sister. So, basically, I pretty much hated those days. But now that I think about it....what would I give for the chance to go on one more outing with my Granny? It would be cool though, I still miss her alot.
But back to the subject.....buying something that someone else has used...alot. Or maybe they just kept it forever and then decided to sell it to some poor sucker for a really cheap price.
So what is the appeal? Is it the cheap price? Is it the feeling of getting something for next to nothing? Or is it that we are so "stuff" oriented in the US that we feel the desire to acquire other people's "stuff." Its still a mystery.
Right now, in my very own front yard, sits a myriad of my stuff. Everything from garden tools to musty toys of my neice and nephew's infancy to books that don't have all of the pages or old candles. And people have bought A TON OF IT. Grant it, most of it is for under a dollar but still, wow.
You see, we plan to move to a smaller residence very soon. Most of the belongings in this house won't fit in the new place. We don't use most of it anyway and haven't even looked at a lot of it in years. Many things will be thrown away or given to charity. But my dear husband decided we should have a yardsale. Its been rather successful and we've only had one day of sales. The biggest hit, however, was the box of free stuff that a few young boys in the neighborhood thought was cool. I'm sure it was the idea of it being free but nonetheless, they took most of it.
My problem with all of this I guess is a fear related one. I know the condition of my basement where most of this has been stored. I don't care for basements. They are usually musty, stinky, dark, germ-infested and spider-filled. All of these things frighten me to some extent. I REALLY do not like spiders. Germs are another story entirely. More about that later. The thought of going to my basement to retrieve these items........yuck.
So, sell my stuff in exchange for a few dollars and you get the privilege of taking my stuff home, cleaning it up and calling it yours. Yeah, have fun with that.
Its not a pleasant thought really. Its a bit embarrassing. HOWEVER, if you happen to come by my yardsale and want to take some of my stuff for yourself I'll gladly put the money to good use.....I'll buy some new stuff.
Today's topic......yardsales. Who came up with that idea? Pile all of your crap onto a few neatly arranged tables, slap on a sticker or sign and see who shows up.
Today marks the beginning of the "world's longest yardsale." or something like that. It goes from Covington, KY to somewhere in the Gulf of New Mexico supposedly. That's what my husband said anyway, I've never cared enough to read about it.
Yardsales have been somewhat of a mystery to me since I was a kid. My mother and grandmother LOVED to go to them. They dragged me and a few of my cousins along with them. It was always way too hot and I was never allowed to buy anything. Half of the time I never got out of the car and ended up fighting with my cousin Charlie or my sister. So, basically, I pretty much hated those days. But now that I think about it....what would I give for the chance to go on one more outing with my Granny? It would be cool though, I still miss her alot.
But back to the subject.....buying something that someone else has used...alot. Or maybe they just kept it forever and then decided to sell it to some poor sucker for a really cheap price.
So what is the appeal? Is it the cheap price? Is it the feeling of getting something for next to nothing? Or is it that we are so "stuff" oriented in the US that we feel the desire to acquire other people's "stuff." Its still a mystery.
Right now, in my very own front yard, sits a myriad of my stuff. Everything from garden tools to musty toys of my neice and nephew's infancy to books that don't have all of the pages or old candles. And people have bought A TON OF IT. Grant it, most of it is for under a dollar but still, wow.
You see, we plan to move to a smaller residence very soon. Most of the belongings in this house won't fit in the new place. We don't use most of it anyway and haven't even looked at a lot of it in years. Many things will be thrown away or given to charity. But my dear husband decided we should have a yardsale. Its been rather successful and we've only had one day of sales. The biggest hit, however, was the box of free stuff that a few young boys in the neighborhood thought was cool. I'm sure it was the idea of it being free but nonetheless, they took most of it.
My problem with all of this I guess is a fear related one. I know the condition of my basement where most of this has been stored. I don't care for basements. They are usually musty, stinky, dark, germ-infested and spider-filled. All of these things frighten me to some extent. I REALLY do not like spiders. Germs are another story entirely. More about that later. The thought of going to my basement to retrieve these items........yuck.
So, sell my stuff in exchange for a few dollars and you get the privilege of taking my stuff home, cleaning it up and calling it yours. Yeah, have fun with that.
Its not a pleasant thought really. Its a bit embarrassing. HOWEVER, if you happen to come by my yardsale and want to take some of my stuff for yourself I'll gladly put the money to good use.....I'll buy some new stuff.
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