I am in the process of helping with a 65th anniversary of my elementary school. Part of this celebration will be an alumni reunion for graduates of the school. When explaining how I keep busy, several friends have asked in several different ways:
- Why are you interested in the past?
- What do you have to talk about?
- Isn't this strange to relive grade school years?
I do admit it is unusual, but I don't find it strange... and there is plenty to talk about... that is not in the past!
What gets your attention?
(Photo: Parochial School "clicker")
One amusing example: everyone from a certain age group in my school wants to know what happened to the "clickers"! Now, on the surface, this could be seen as sharing old memories from the past. The clicker was an instrument the religious sisters would use to get our attention. When dealing with 35-40 energetic students (with no classroom aides), the Sisters would "click" this wood-and-rubber-band device and everyone would stop and look... and, without raising their voices, our teachers would calmly explain the lesson of that day. (I do know from some classmates that the "clicker" sometimes inhabited their nightmares!)
What I find interesting about this memory is how I learned to pay attention... and how, to this day, I stop when a certain sound happens... a click!
What gets your attention?
(Photo: variegated rose - Larry Gardepie)
It's that connection of past to present that intrigues me: the ability to stop and pay attention; the awareness that past values still influence us today; that curiosity and wonder started when I tried to figure out how the clicker worked... and why energetic, young children would stop so suddenly. (My elementary school experiences were not with wooden rulers or erasers thrown at you... horror stories I have heard from others... but a "clicker.")
For me, why do I stop when I see a beautiful flower or a sunset? Once I slow down and pay attention, the memory lingers and becomes part of me: connections of past and present!
What gets your attention?
(Photo: Champagne Waterfall - Larry Gardepie)
Why am I interested in the past? That question is almost like asking if the glass is half empty or half full. For me, it's not about the contents in the glass. Rather, it starts with gratitude that I have a glass... and then, the hope that the glass will be filled up again!
The past informs who I am in the present. It's about understanding connections... and reconnecting. It's about understanding what is happening in this crazy, chaotic world right now by looking back at who I was and what I learned to value. It's about how I learned to pay attention, and what gets my attention now.
May we discover anew this week: who we were; who we are; and who we are becoming. Let's reconnect!
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| Larry Gardepie (click on link for website) |
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