Lately, I have been blogging about being a teacher. Today I am going to talk about Randy Pausch, a wonderful spiritual messenger and what a teacher! If you do not know Randy Pausch, I would have to say that he was one of the most spiritual teachers of our time.
About two years ago, he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and he left this earthly plane today. The teachings and messages he left behind, however, will live on forever. Through it all, Randy squeezed every bit of living out of his life. He is an example to anyone, whether you are battling a life threatening illness or just wanting to know how to live.
Below is a link to learn more about Randy and the wonderful gift he left behind in his "Last Lecture".
http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/
My sympathies go out to his family. The world has lost a wonderful teacher, husband, father and man.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
You Are a Teacher, Part 3.
In the last two posts I covered how you are a teacher to others and yourself. Today, I am going to narrow the focus a bit and talk about the most precious of students, our children.
There is always a lot of talk about creating a more harmonious world, one where peace and love rule. A place where we want to raise kids to be better citizens. Well, if that is true then we have to realize that it all starts at home.
Kids are a blank slate so the only way they can learn hate, prejudice, violence, deceit, bad attitudes, worry, deviance and anxiety is by example. Whether it is from the people they are in direct contact with or the almighty boob tube, it has to be learned.
So how is your home life? Do you show love and compassion? Are you honest and happy? Is it a calm, peaceful, serene place? Do you value service to others? Do you have a positive attitude? Are you a caring, kind and considerate? Do you tell your children that you love them? Are you encouraging them to play, create and explore? Is acceptance and tolerance taught? Are you flexible, patient and open?
Sure parenting is a tough thing, probably one of the toughest things you will ever do but it is so full of joy and priceless rewards that nothing can replace it.
The beautiful thing is you are not alone, ever. Everyone has someone they can turn to for support. Be it family, friends, mentors or social service organizations, there is always someone willing to lend a hand.
As a parent myself, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that there were times where I had no clue what I was doing and I know that I made some mistakes when raising my daughter. Overall, everything I did, I tried to start from a position of love and when I did that it all seemed to fall into place. Our soul instinctively knows what to do.
Even if your own childhood was not the best, you can still be a good parent. You have a choice as to how you are going to raise them. Just like any other thing you will choose throughout your lifetime, you can choose to be an involved, positive parent and raise a loving child.
My own father was an alcoholic and just never there, so I grew up essentially without a father. Now, I had two choices when I became a father, I could choose to be like him or not. I chose to be the exact opposite and I can say that it has worked out very well. I have a lovely daughter!
I'll sum this up with one of my quotes from my presentation, "The ABC's of Life".
"Children are the canvas on which is painted the next generation."
There is always a lot of talk about creating a more harmonious world, one where peace and love rule. A place where we want to raise kids to be better citizens. Well, if that is true then we have to realize that it all starts at home.
Kids are a blank slate so the only way they can learn hate, prejudice, violence, deceit, bad attitudes, worry, deviance and anxiety is by example. Whether it is from the people they are in direct contact with or the almighty boob tube, it has to be learned.
So how is your home life? Do you show love and compassion? Are you honest and happy? Is it a calm, peaceful, serene place? Do you value service to others? Do you have a positive attitude? Are you a caring, kind and considerate? Do you tell your children that you love them? Are you encouraging them to play, create and explore? Is acceptance and tolerance taught? Are you flexible, patient and open?
Sure parenting is a tough thing, probably one of the toughest things you will ever do but it is so full of joy and priceless rewards that nothing can replace it.
The beautiful thing is you are not alone, ever. Everyone has someone they can turn to for support. Be it family, friends, mentors or social service organizations, there is always someone willing to lend a hand.
As a parent myself, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that there were times where I had no clue what I was doing and I know that I made some mistakes when raising my daughter. Overall, everything I did, I tried to start from a position of love and when I did that it all seemed to fall into place. Our soul instinctively knows what to do.
Even if your own childhood was not the best, you can still be a good parent. You have a choice as to how you are going to raise them. Just like any other thing you will choose throughout your lifetime, you can choose to be an involved, positive parent and raise a loving child.
My own father was an alcoholic and just never there, so I grew up essentially without a father. Now, I had two choices when I became a father, I could choose to be like him or not. I chose to be the exact opposite and I can say that it has worked out very well. I have a lovely daughter!
I'll sum this up with one of my quotes from my presentation, "The ABC's of Life".
"Children are the canvas on which is painted the next generation."
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
You Are a Teacher, Part 2.
Yesterday I wrote about all of us being a teacher and I focused on what we teach others. Today I would like to expand on that thought by turning the teaching inward. What I mean by that is while we are teaching others with our words and actions, we are also teaching ourselves.
How do we do that? Actually in the same ways we teach others, through our words and actions. Self-talk is one of the greatest teaching tools that we have in forming who we are for the rest of our lives. Especially after we leave childhood, our inner dialogue is more responsible than ever for who we are today and who we will be in the future.
Here are some questions to ask yourself: How is your inner dialogue? Do you say/think good things to yourself or are you constantly saying/thinking negative things to yourself? Do you encourage or discourage yourself? If a friend talked to you as you talk to yourself, would they still be your friend? Why do we put up with negative talk from our self when we probably would not from others?
To expand on this teaching thing a little further, how we treat ourselves teaches others how to treat us. If we are being negative towards ourselves then we are giving permission for others to treat us badly, in fact we are attracting those that treat us badly and then wonder why it happens. Like a bee is attracted to flowers because of the scent, we are sending our signals to the world (our scent) that it is OK to treat me badly because I don't really like myself anyway. The ironic thing here is that all of it is self-perpetuating. The more we think/say bad things about ourselves, the more we attract negative responses from the world, so the more we feel badly and dislike ourselves even more.
However, we can reverse the cycle by simply saying/thinking good things about ourselves. If you want to have good things happen to you then start by being a better friend to you. Then you will attract positive people who will treat you right, which in turn will build your self-esteem and self-confidence. Since at this point you are feeling better about you, then you will think/say good things about you and in turn you will continue to attract positive things. Once again it is self-perpetuating and will continue to feed upon itself.
Our words and thoughts are powerful things and they can lead us down two very different paths. One path of joy, love, happiness, peace & harmony and the other path of depression, despair, guilt & misery. What path do you want to be on? It is all up to you and you are teaching yourself and the world which path you will ultimately be on.
Well, that's it for today. I'll be back soon with more Rare Sense Thoughts!
May you be blessed always and in all ways!
http://www.raresenseunlimited.com/
How do we do that? Actually in the same ways we teach others, through our words and actions. Self-talk is one of the greatest teaching tools that we have in forming who we are for the rest of our lives. Especially after we leave childhood, our inner dialogue is more responsible than ever for who we are today and who we will be in the future.
Here are some questions to ask yourself: How is your inner dialogue? Do you say/think good things to yourself or are you constantly saying/thinking negative things to yourself? Do you encourage or discourage yourself? If a friend talked to you as you talk to yourself, would they still be your friend? Why do we put up with negative talk from our self when we probably would not from others?
To expand on this teaching thing a little further, how we treat ourselves teaches others how to treat us. If we are being negative towards ourselves then we are giving permission for others to treat us badly, in fact we are attracting those that treat us badly and then wonder why it happens. Like a bee is attracted to flowers because of the scent, we are sending our signals to the world (our scent) that it is OK to treat me badly because I don't really like myself anyway. The ironic thing here is that all of it is self-perpetuating. The more we think/say bad things about ourselves, the more we attract negative responses from the world, so the more we feel badly and dislike ourselves even more.
However, we can reverse the cycle by simply saying/thinking good things about ourselves. If you want to have good things happen to you then start by being a better friend to you. Then you will attract positive people who will treat you right, which in turn will build your self-esteem and self-confidence. Since at this point you are feeling better about you, then you will think/say good things about you and in turn you will continue to attract positive things. Once again it is self-perpetuating and will continue to feed upon itself.
Our words and thoughts are powerful things and they can lead us down two very different paths. One path of joy, love, happiness, peace & harmony and the other path of depression, despair, guilt & misery. What path do you want to be on? It is all up to you and you are teaching yourself and the world which path you will ultimately be on.
Well, that's it for today. I'll be back soon with more Rare Sense Thoughts!
May you be blessed always and in all ways!
http://www.raresenseunlimited.com/
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
You are a teacher!
If you want to live a fulfilled and balanced life then you have to recognize that you are a teacher and have all the responsibilty that comes with being in such a position.
Whether we realize it or not we are always teaching others. Some of us do it as a profession and all of us do it by our mere actions and words. How we treat others and the words we use, tell the world who we truly are on the inside. We must take this into consideration anytime we are around others.
How do you want the world to see you? What do you want to project? What do you want to teach others? What kind of world do you want to co-create? These are serious questions with serious ramifications, for if you say you want a world of peace, harmony and love, is that what you are teaching the world by your actions and words?
I have a list on my bulletin board entitled the "Five Laws of Life" that illustrates my point rather eloquently:
May every thought that you think be etched in fire in the sky for the whole world to see, for in fact it is...
May every word that you say be said as if the whole world were one great big ear for everyone to hear, for fact it is...
May every deed you do recoil on top of your head, for in fact it will....
May every wish you wish another be a wish you wish for yourself, for in fact it is...
May everything you do be done as if God is doing it, for in fact God is!
That's it, short, sweet and to the point. Sometimes I just like to be efficient.
May you be blessed always and in all ways!
Whether we realize it or not we are always teaching others. Some of us do it as a profession and all of us do it by our mere actions and words. How we treat others and the words we use, tell the world who we truly are on the inside. We must take this into consideration anytime we are around others.
How do you want the world to see you? What do you want to project? What do you want to teach others? What kind of world do you want to co-create? These are serious questions with serious ramifications, for if you say you want a world of peace, harmony and love, is that what you are teaching the world by your actions and words?
I have a list on my bulletin board entitled the "Five Laws of Life" that illustrates my point rather eloquently:
May every thought that you think be etched in fire in the sky for the whole world to see, for in fact it is...
May every word that you say be said as if the whole world were one great big ear for everyone to hear, for fact it is...
May every deed you do recoil on top of your head, for in fact it will....
May every wish you wish another be a wish you wish for yourself, for in fact it is...
May everything you do be done as if God is doing it, for in fact God is!
That's it, short, sweet and to the point. Sometimes I just like to be efficient.
May you be blessed always and in all ways!
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