The Condor is one of the largest flying bird in the world. Magnificient birds with wings spreading to almost three feet.
They are a symbol of strength and freedom. They have a distinct white circle of tuft of feathers on the neck as well on their wings. The Andean condors are monogamous birds They live with a single partner all their life. They are known to care for their offspring together, for almost an year.
There are many legends by Incas associated with these amazing birds. Of how much they are tuned in to the circle of life. Talks about the magnanimity & loyalty as a bird. They are common to South American Andes region.
In continuation to my earlier post on Holistic education. I came across this poignant post and I heartfully share this wonderful initiative and reflections.
ATTENTION ALL TEACHERS AND PARENTS
Every Friday afternoon Chase’s teacher asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they’d like to sit the following week. The children know that these requests may or may not be honored. She also asks the students to nominate one student whom they believe has been an exceptional classroom citizen that week. All ballots are privately submitted to her.
And every single Friday afternoon, after the students go home, Chase’s teacher takes out those slips of paper, places them in front of her and studies them. She looks for patterns.
Who is not getting requested by anyone else? Who doesn’t even know who to request? Who never gets noticed enough to be nominated? Who had a million friends last week and none this week?
You see, Chase’s teacher is not looking for a new seating chart or “exceptional citizens.” Chase’s teacher is looking for lonely children. She’s looking for children who are struggling to connect with other children. She’s identifying the little ones who are falling through the cracks of the class’s social life. She is discovering whose gifts are going unnoticed by their peers. And she’s pinning down- right away- who’s being bullied and who is doing the bullying.
As a teacher, parent, and lover of all children – I think that this is the most brilliant Love Ninja strategy I have ever encountered. It’s like taking an X-ray of a classroom to see beneath the surface of things and into the hearts of students. It is like mining for gold – the gold being those little ones who need a little help – who need adults to step in and TEACH them how to make friends, how to ask others to play, how to join a group, or how to share their gifts with others. And it’s a bully deterrent because every teacher knows that bullying usually happens outside of her eyeshot – and that often kids being bullied are too intimidated to share. But as she said – the truth comes out on those safe, private, little sheets of paper.
As Chase’s teacher explained this simple, ingenious idea – I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. “How long have you been using this system?” I said. Ever since Columbine, she said. Every single Friday afternoon since Columbine.
Good Lord.
This brilliant woman watched Columbine knowing that ALL VIOLENCE BEGINS WITH DISCONNECTION. All outward violence begins as inner loneliness. She watched that tragedy KNOWING that children who aren’t being noticed will eventually resort to being noticed by any means necessary.
And so she decided to start fighting violence early and often, and with the world within her reach. What Chase’s teacher is doing when she sits in her empty classroom studying those lists written with shaky 11 year old hands – is SAVING LIVES. I am convinced of it. She is saving lives.
And what this mathematician has learned while using this system is something she really already knew: that everything – even love, even belonging – has a pattern to it. And she finds those patterns through those lists – she breaks the codes of disconnection. And then she gets lonely kids the help they need. It’s math to her. It’s MATH.
All is love- even math. Amazing.
Chase’s teacher retires this year – after decades of saving lives. What a way to spend a life: looking for patterns of love and loneliness. Stepping in, every single day- and altering the trajectory of our world.
TEACH ON, WARRIORS. You are the first responders, the front line, the disconnection detectives, and the best and ONLY hope we’ve got for a better world. What you do in those classrooms when no one is watching- it’s our best hope. http://momastery.com/blog/2014/01/30/share-schools/
We are country overflowing with an abundance of rivers and blessed with the monsoon season. Yet the picture is grim. Rivers are tilting the balance, either in floods or in a draught. The changing weather conditions, the seasonal shifts, have created havoc on our agriculture.
Common man’s need for drinking water is not met. Some states fight for rivers to flow into them with acute water shortages, some states have perennial rivers flowing. And some have dried river beds without a drop of rain.
Our majestic country that stood tall in the wealth of nature from east to west and north to south is sadly shrinking in shame The culprits are no one but us all. Land grabbing and construction is happening without care or consideration of the ecosystem.
Today where rivers were there are buildings With rampant construction without ethical practices. We may have turned the face of India in digitization and globalization but our natural resources are being drained. With rising population, it is creating a giant depletion of resources without developing adequate measures to restore and regenerate the ecosystem.
Here is the truth as we stand today. India is among the 17 countries facing “extremely high” water stress, according to the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Atlas. The country, ranked 13th on the list, has more than three times the population (1.4 billion) of the other 16 countries combined. And the crisis isn’t limited to the southern states anymore: Northern India also faces severe groundwater depletion. Earlier, a WWF study showed that Chennai and Kolkata were the world’s most water-vulnerable metros due to mismanagement of river systems and shrinking of wetlands.
What can we as citizens of this glorious generous land do to help? There are many ways to help conserve water and make a difference.
Here are a few easy checks
Close taps when you are brushing/ shaving. Fix leaking pipes and taps. Stop throwing garbage in nature and contaminating water resources. Check your water usage in bathrooms. Fix water-saving showers. Stop wasting water. Every drop counts!
Being human is about caring for the world. So do remember if we save water today, we are ensuring there is water left for the future. Let us all make a difference from where ever we are. Save water.
The colour purple symbolizes many things like mystery creativity, romance, royalty, luxury, pride and peace. It is the colour artists are often fond of. Spiritually, colour purple and violet assist in the expansion of awareness and in connection of deeper consciousness.
How many shades of purple have you heard of... Here are some variations of Colour purple… many of which you can find in the beautiful picture above.
A person started to walk on a rope tied between two tall towers at several hundred feet above the ground. He is slowly walking balancing a long stick in his hands. He has his son sitting on his shoulders.
Everyone down were watching him in bated breath and were tensed. He slowly reached the second tower. Everyone clapped, whistled and welcomed him. They shook hands and took selfies.
He asked the crowd “do you all think I can walk back on the same rope now from this side to that side?”. The crowd shouted, “Yes, Yes, you can”. Do you trust me he asked? They said yes, yes we are ready to bet on you.
He said okay, can anyone of you sit on my shoulder; I will take you to the other side safely.
Everyone became quiet. There was stunned silence.
Belief is different. Trust is different. For Trust, you need total surrender.
This is what we are lacking towards God in today’s world.
Cage not the heart of those who dream of the yonder Beyond the clouds over the hills Their spirit seeks to wander. Across the horizon, their soul belongs
Seek not to hold them For they are way ahead of you already Too swift are their thoughts Too far away are their hearts Too distant are you from them already
Not for them, the mundane chores Not for them, the worldly spoils Not for them, the earthly desires Not for them the meaningless wants
Seek not to find common ground For they have moved on way back in time Neither in dreams or in dare Can there be a parallel Seek not, as your paths are not meant to cross. Let them go, as it is meant to be.
Savvy Raj 
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