Saturday 25 September 2010
My calling...?
I think I may have figured mine out...my calling that is... can one actually do that?! :)
I want to be a teacher, I'm learning to be one. :) I'm feeling fairly confident about that role. But, I want to be more than that...I want to be a good person who does and sees the good in others. I'm not perfect but neither is anyone else...we're all human, have the same worth...
All these things are coming together for me recently and I'm still not sure what it all means, where it will all take me but I'm trying to "go with the flow" because I don't feel all that in control of the situation (as I'd like to be). I feel gently but firmly urged, nudged into a place that feels both scary and yet so obvious...
....
I don't know...maybe I've just finally grown up or something but for the first time (ever?) I feel an urge to do something, to use my voice and embrace me - all that I know (and have been told) I am but have been fighting against... Gosh! Sounds like total gibberish doesn't it!? As I said, I don't really know what I'm in right now but I'm fairly certain I'll keep on going right into it.
Weird...
This wasn't really how I'd thought this post would turn out, I thought that I would be able to be a bit more specific but apparently not.
I want to be a teacher, I'm learning to be one. :) I'm feeling fairly confident about that role. But, I want to be more than that...I want to be a good person who does and sees the good in others. I'm not perfect but neither is anyone else...we're all human, have the same worth...
All these things are coming together for me recently and I'm still not sure what it all means, where it will all take me but I'm trying to "go with the flow" because I don't feel all that in control of the situation (as I'd like to be). I feel gently but firmly urged, nudged into a place that feels both scary and yet so obvious...
....
I don't know...maybe I've just finally grown up or something but for the first time (ever?) I feel an urge to do something, to use my voice and embrace me - all that I know (and have been told) I am but have been fighting against... Gosh! Sounds like total gibberish doesn't it!? As I said, I don't really know what I'm in right now but I'm fairly certain I'll keep on going right into it.
Weird...
This wasn't really how I'd thought this post would turn out, I thought that I would be able to be a bit more specific but apparently not.
Saturday 18 September 2010
Sense of Coherence
...or Salutogenesis is a concept or actually a theory of health and illness by Aaron Antonovsky. It explains how some people are more protected agains stress factors in their daily life due to the "sense of coherence" they have about Life and its challenges.
The sense of coherence has three components;
Comprehensibility: Does things make sense? Do I understand what's happening? Can I say what will come next?
Manageability: Can I manage? Have I got the support and "tools" to cope with what's happening?
Meaningfulness: It there a point? A purpose? A good reason? Are things in Life interesting? Worth caring about?
According the Antonovsky, meaningfulness is the most important factor. If there is no sense of meaning one will not have the motivation to make sense of things and/or to manage them...
And my point for this post?! (if there need to be one... ;)) :D Well, I've heard/read about salutogenesis before as a stress coping tool and/or a way to find balance in one's life... The other day at a lecture about learning the lecturer used this theory as a key part of making studies/studying meaningfull. If a child/person doesn't understand why/what/what for he/she learning something then he/she becomes a observer rather than a participant in school, and in the bigger scheme... Life.
I got a light bulb-moment out of this world!! :D OF COURSE! It makes perfect sense to use salutogenesis in the learning field too...! :) And I believe that a sense of coherense can be applicable to any and all aspects of life...so if you're still with me (bless you!) ;) That is my point...!
"Beyond the specific stress factors that one might encounter in life, and beyond your perception and response to those events, what determines whether stress will cause you harm is whether or not the stress violates your sense of coherence."
- Aaron Antonovsky
The sense of coherence has three components;
Comprehensibility: Does things make sense? Do I understand what's happening? Can I say what will come next?
Manageability: Can I manage? Have I got the support and "tools" to cope with what's happening?
Meaningfulness: It there a point? A purpose? A good reason? Are things in Life interesting? Worth caring about?
According the Antonovsky, meaningfulness is the most important factor. If there is no sense of meaning one will not have the motivation to make sense of things and/or to manage them...
And my point for this post?! (if there need to be one... ;)) :D Well, I've heard/read about salutogenesis before as a stress coping tool and/or a way to find balance in one's life... The other day at a lecture about learning the lecturer used this theory as a key part of making studies/studying meaningfull. If a child/person doesn't understand why/what/what for he/she learning something then he/she becomes a observer rather than a participant in school, and in the bigger scheme... Life.
I got a light bulb-moment out of this world!! :D OF COURSE! It makes perfect sense to use salutogenesis in the learning field too...! :) And I believe that a sense of coherense can be applicable to any and all aspects of life...so if you're still with me (bless you!) ;) That is my point...!
- Aaron Antonovsky
Saturday 11 September 2010
Solidarity
It thought that I'd already shared this here but when I went looking for it it was "gone"... ;) :D So...here it is "again". ;P
"Solidarity is not a matter of altruism. Solidarity comes from the inability to tolerate the affront to our own integrity of passive or active collaboration in the oppression of others, and from the deep recognition of our most expansive self-interest. From the recognition that, like it or not, our liberation is bound up with that of every other being on the planet, and that politically, spiritually, in our heart of hearts we know anything else is unaffordable."
- Aurora Levins Morales
Here in Sweden we're coming up on election soon (Sept. 19th) and to be honest with you, the policies the opposing parties are presenting are almost too similar to tell them apart. "Pest eller kolera?" we say in Swedish (transl. to plague or cholera?) when it's a choice between two uncomfortable options.
BUT! The ideological differences are still there - how people/humanity is viewed and I can not vote for those who exclude rather than include!
This is my penny's worth about politics and it's about all you'll hear me say. :)
Eid Mubarak.
- Aurora Levins Morales
Here in Sweden we're coming up on election soon (Sept. 19th) and to be honest with you, the policies the opposing parties are presenting are almost too similar to tell them apart. "Pest eller kolera?" we say in Swedish (transl. to plague or cholera?) when it's a choice between two uncomfortable options.
BUT! The ideological differences are still there - how people/humanity is viewed and I can not vote for those who exclude rather than include!
This is my penny's worth about politics and it's about all you'll hear me say. :)
Eid Mubarak.
9/11 and Compassion: We Need It Now More Than Ever
Article from The Huffington Post
By Karen Armstrong
Former Roman Catholic nun;
Author, 'Through the Narrow Gate'
Posted: September 10, 2010 08:24 PM
The anniversary of 9/11 reminds us why we need the Charter for Compassion. It should be an annual summons to compassionate action. The need is especially apparent this year. In the United States, we have witnessed an upsurge of anti-Muslim feeling that violates the core values of that nation. The controversy surrounding the community centre near Ground Zero, planned by our dear friends Imam Feisal Rauf and Daisy Khan (who were among the earliest supporters and partners of the Charter) has inspired rhetoric that shames us all. And now we have the prospect of the Quran burning proposed by a Christian pastor, who seems to have forgotten that Jesus taught his followers to love those they regard as enemies, to respond to evil with good, and to turn the other cheek when attacked, and who died forgiving his executioners.
If we want to preserve our humanity, we must make the compassionate voice of religion and morality a vibrant and dynamic force in our polarised world. We can no longer afford the barbarism of hatred, contempt and disgust. At the same time as we are so perilously divided, we are drawn together electronically, economically and politically more closely than ever before. A Quran burning, whenever it is held (it appears to have been delayed for questionable reasons by the pastor behind it), would endanger American troops in Afghanistan and send shock waves of distress throughout the Muslim world. In an age when, increasingly, small groups will have powers of destruction that were previously the preserve only of the nation-state, respect and compassion are now crucial for our very survival. We have to learn to make a place for the other in our minds and hearts; any ideology that inspires hatred, exclusion and division is failing the test of our time. Hatred breeds more hatred, violence more violence. It is time to break this vicious cycle.
In response to the prospect of a Quran burning, some people planned readings of the sacred Quran. Others are organizing interfaith gatherings on September 11. Each person who has affirmed the Charter, each one of our partners and associates, will know how best to respond in his or her own community. It is an opportunity to protest against the hatred that is damaging us all; to sit and do nothing is not an option. Instead of looking at one another with hostility, let us look at the suffering that we are seeing in so many parts of the world -- not least in Pakistan, where millions of people have been victims of the flooding. On September 11, let us all try to find something practical to do that can, in however small a way, bring help and relief to all those in pain, even -- and perhaps especially -- those we may regard as enemies. We are all neighbours in the global village and must learn to live together in harmony, compassion and mutual respect.
Imam Feisal Rauf is a Sufi. Over the centuries, Sufis, the mystics of Islam, have developed an outstanding appreciation of other faith traditions. It is quite common for a Sufi poet to cry in ecstasy that he is no longer a Muslim, a Christian or a Jew and that he is at home equally in a synagogue, mosque, temple or church, because once you have glimpsed the immensity of the divine, these limited, human distinctions fall away into insignificance. We need that spirit today -- perhaps especially near Ground Zero. Here I would like to add some words of the great thirteenth-century Sufi philosopher Muid ad-Din ibn al-Arabi, which I have found personally inspiring:
Do not attach yourself in an exclusive manner to any one creed, so that you disbelieve all the rest: if you do this, you will miss much good; nay, you will fail to realize the real truth of the matter. God, the omnipresent and omnipotent, is not limited by any one creed, for He says, "Wheresoever ye turn, there is the face of Allah" (Quran 2.109). Everyone praises what he believes; his god is his own creature, and in praising it he praises himself. Consequently he blames the beliefs of others, which he would not do if he were just but his dislike is based on ignorance.
It is time to combat the ignorance that inspires hatred and fear. We have seen the harm religious chauvinism can do; now let us bear witness to the power of compassion.
By Karen Armstrong
Former Roman Catholic nun;
Author, 'Through the Narrow Gate'
Posted: September 10, 2010 08:24 PM
The anniversary of 9/11 reminds us why we need the Charter for Compassion. It should be an annual summons to compassionate action. The need is especially apparent this year. In the United States, we have witnessed an upsurge of anti-Muslim feeling that violates the core values of that nation. The controversy surrounding the community centre near Ground Zero, planned by our dear friends Imam Feisal Rauf and Daisy Khan (who were among the earliest supporters and partners of the Charter) has inspired rhetoric that shames us all. And now we have the prospect of the Quran burning proposed by a Christian pastor, who seems to have forgotten that Jesus taught his followers to love those they regard as enemies, to respond to evil with good, and to turn the other cheek when attacked, and who died forgiving his executioners.
If we want to preserve our humanity, we must make the compassionate voice of religion and morality a vibrant and dynamic force in our polarised world. We can no longer afford the barbarism of hatred, contempt and disgust. At the same time as we are so perilously divided, we are drawn together electronically, economically and politically more closely than ever before. A Quran burning, whenever it is held (it appears to have been delayed for questionable reasons by the pastor behind it), would endanger American troops in Afghanistan and send shock waves of distress throughout the Muslim world. In an age when, increasingly, small groups will have powers of destruction that were previously the preserve only of the nation-state, respect and compassion are now crucial for our very survival. We have to learn to make a place for the other in our minds and hearts; any ideology that inspires hatred, exclusion and division is failing the test of our time. Hatred breeds more hatred, violence more violence. It is time to break this vicious cycle.
In response to the prospect of a Quran burning, some people planned readings of the sacred Quran. Others are organizing interfaith gatherings on September 11. Each person who has affirmed the Charter, each one of our partners and associates, will know how best to respond in his or her own community. It is an opportunity to protest against the hatred that is damaging us all; to sit and do nothing is not an option. Instead of looking at one another with hostility, let us look at the suffering that we are seeing in so many parts of the world -- not least in Pakistan, where millions of people have been victims of the flooding. On September 11, let us all try to find something practical to do that can, in however small a way, bring help and relief to all those in pain, even -- and perhaps especially -- those we may regard as enemies. We are all neighbours in the global village and must learn to live together in harmony, compassion and mutual respect.
Imam Feisal Rauf is a Sufi. Over the centuries, Sufis, the mystics of Islam, have developed an outstanding appreciation of other faith traditions. It is quite common for a Sufi poet to cry in ecstasy that he is no longer a Muslim, a Christian or a Jew and that he is at home equally in a synagogue, mosque, temple or church, because once you have glimpsed the immensity of the divine, these limited, human distinctions fall away into insignificance. We need that spirit today -- perhaps especially near Ground Zero. Here I would like to add some words of the great thirteenth-century Sufi philosopher Muid ad-Din ibn al-Arabi, which I have found personally inspiring:
Do not attach yourself in an exclusive manner to any one creed, so that you disbelieve all the rest: if you do this, you will miss much good; nay, you will fail to realize the real truth of the matter. God, the omnipresent and omnipotent, is not limited by any one creed, for He says, "Wheresoever ye turn, there is the face of Allah" (Quran 2.109). Everyone praises what he believes; his god is his own creature, and in praising it he praises himself. Consequently he blames the beliefs of others, which he would not do if he were just but his dislike is based on ignorance.
It is time to combat the ignorance that inspires hatred and fear. We have seen the harm religious chauvinism can do; now let us bear witness to the power of compassion.
Tuesday 7 September 2010
Knowledge...?
So...I've been abscent for a little while... Uni's started and it is all sort of New and Scary. :) Especially since we have our first exam is on Friday - barely two weeks in to the term!?!
My darling daughter has had a fever the last few days and I can just not allow myself to miss any lectures this early on so daddy has done his duty and mummy's been feeling guilty for not being "able" to... :/ Silly I know, but it's all a part of being a mum, isn't it? :\
I really hope that I'll find time and inspiration to keep posting here regularly, I think I really need this space. :)
My little Haven. ♥
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge."
- Kahlil Gibran
So hope that's true! :P
My darling daughter has had a fever the last few days and I can just not allow myself to miss any lectures this early on so daddy has done his duty and mummy's been feeling guilty for not being "able" to... :/ Silly I know, but it's all a part of being a mum, isn't it? :\
I really hope that I'll find time and inspiration to keep posting here regularly, I think I really need this space. :)
My little Haven. ♥
- Kahlil Gibran
So hope that's true! :P
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