Each Monday, I would like to share a reminder about the importance of being mindful. These will come from literature, popular culture, music--anywhere one might get this sort of everyday life nudge.
This is my first year outside of the high school classroom and it has been a beautiful, but challenging one. Because I decided my freshman year of high school to become a teacher, the transition to not-a-teacher has been somewhat of a struggle. As I mentioned in everything you do is a choice, I am happy with my choice to return to school, but I think about my students often.
When I taught English 11, I loved to share the following poem with my students. For many, junior year is tough--full of challenges, stress, and to-do lists. The poem "maggie and millie and molly and may" was a chance to remind my students to slow down, breathe, and reevaluate. Finding a balance, I would say to them, would allow for happiness, health, and productivity. Looking at it now, I don't know many people, juniors in high school or otherwise, who wouldn't benefit from this advice. Enjoy.
"maggie and millie and molly and may" by e. e. cummings
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
Poets.org poem and cummings bio
Do you have any thoughts on the poem? Have you read it before? What does it mean to you?
Photo taken on Lake Erie
in Port Colborne, Canada
Labels: Life, Mindful Mondays, The Power of Words
