Spot on

Every now and then I come across something in my reading, or for that matter my viewing of media, or for that matter my actual live, in-person interaction with other human beings, that is "spot on." Right on the money. Something that makes me think, "I wish I had said that."

I subscribe to a professional e-newsletter called "Crucial Skills;" and read a column by Kerry Patterson, one of the co-authors of a book that has been making the circuit in leadership circles, Crucial Conversations. It's very good. The book, that is.

But it is the column, Hidden Dangers, that resonated so well for me. Paterson spends the first half recounting dumb and dangerous things he did in his childhood. I could relate to a lot of them, but that part was not the point. He eventually works around to identifying a real, hidden danger that is deadly to our collective, societal health, which he labels, "assuming our own omniscience." (Perhaps he had been watching Rush Limbaugh, or Al Franken, or both). He goes on:

"Here’s how this ugly assumption works. People routinely talk about something as complicated as revamping the country’s massive healthcare system as if their view is remarkably simple, completely obvious, and held by all smart people. Of course, their opponents’ view is just plain stupid. So stupid in fact, that you can’t talk about it without rolling your eyes. This, of course, comes from people at both ends of the continuum."

It is this sometimes overt, and more often unspoken, but perceptible message, from political candidates, commentators, lobbyists, and anyone with an agenda at all, that devalues our collective wisdom. The truth is always complex, and there are always many sides to an issue. And, ultimately, "truth," and "right," and "fairness," and "prudence," require effort--sustained, collective effort--to attain.

Anyone who can't get that through their head just makes me want to roll my eyes.

(Thank you, Mr. Paterson, for giving eloquent voice to a feeling I have had since moving back to the U.S. seven years ago. Spot on.)

Alleluia!

Easter Sunday.

alleluia
exclamation
variant spelling of hallelujah .
ORIGIN Old English , via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek allēlouia (in the Septuagint), fromHebrew hallĕlūyāh ‘praise ye the Lord.’
hallelujah (also alleluia)
exclamation
God be praised (uttered in worship or as an expression of rejoicing) : He is risen! Alleluia!
noun
an utterance of the word “hallelujah” as an expression of worship or rejoicing.
• (usu. alleluia) a piece of music or church liturgy containing this : the Gospel comes after the Alleluia verse.
ORIGIN Old English , via ecclesiastical Latin alleluia from Greek allēlouia (in the Septuagint), or (from the 16th century) directly from Hebrew hallĕlūyāh ‘praise ye the Lord.’

Today is a good day for rejoicing!   My family is Catholic, and we find our faith a useful lens to view, and a clear channel to interface with, the mysteries that comprise the Greatness that surpasses us and our understanding.  

We are "big C" Catholic by fate, coincidence of birth, and choice.  More importantly, we are "small C" catholic by experience and choice.  Let me explain with a definition.

catholic 
adjective
1 (esp. of a person's tastes) including a wide variety of things; all-embracing. See note at universal .
2 ( Catholic) of the Roman Catholic faith.
• of or including all Christians.
• of or relating to the historic doctrine and practice of the Western Church.
noun ( Catholic)
a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

ORIGIN late Middle English (sense 2): from Old French catholique or late Latin catholicus, from Greek katholikos ‘universal,’ from kata ‘with respect to’ + holos ‘whole.’

I'm not one to proselytize, at all.  I ascribe to the veracity of the Hindu notion that there are many roads to the top of the mountain.  Meaning (2) of the definition above gives me some comfort, and paves much of my path.  But, meaning (1) is the greater comfort.  Universal.

What a universe!  What beauty.

In the Catholic tradition, today is Easter Sunday.  We spent the last forty days, the forty days of Lent, without uttering the word, "Alleluia."  But on Easter morning, the Alleluias ring and rise.  It is kind of like closing your eyes for a time, to prepare to open them and be dazzled by a beautiful sunrise.

I am allowing myself to be dazzled this morning by the breathtaking beauty of all Creation.  Whatever your tradition, whatever your lens--atheist, agnostic, or practitioner of any faith new or ancient, I hope you are doing the same.  Whatever your tradition, I hope you worship today.  That is, I hope you worship in the "catholic" (all-embracing) sense of acknowledging, in whatever way is meaningful to you, the beauty and greatness of...of that which is greater than you...of, all this...of, the universe...of, life, and love, and joy.

Alleluia, indeed.

The stuff of life

I was right.  With school in session, blogs are likely to happen only on weekends, if then.  Plus, I discovered a blog on principalspage.com that is spot on, dealing with topics I think about and am likely to blog about, and the guy is funnier than me.  And it goes back several years.  Not enough years, though:  where was this guy when I was a new principal?  I had to figure out stuff for myself.  His name is Michael Smith and he is a small town superintendent in Illinois.  His answer to the question, "Why blog?" was, it's 2009.  I concur.  Blog he will and blog I will.  I will, even if I am not prolific.  Even if I am not profound.  And even if I am not funny.

It's public knowledge on two continents that I am leaving a small, circa 600 student K-12 public school district in a small town on the south coast of Oregon, where I serve as the secondary school principal, for a similar position at a similar-sized K-12 private international school in a very large town on the north coast of Morocco, Africa.  All right, it is public knowledge in a very small part of each of those two continents.  It is big news in my family, if not elsewhere.

This week has been about transition.  About having one foot firmly in Reedsport, not dropping the ball, not letting loose of the reins, earning my keep...but at the same time preparing for my departure and preparing for a successful transition.  About having another foot testing the waters in Casablanca, getting the lay of the land, assessing the situation, forging connections...preparing for my arrival and preparing for a successful transition.

And about physical transition, for our stuff, if not for our selves.

FedEx is now entrusted with 25 boxes, each packed solid with the material objects that will be reunited with us in August in a yet unknown venue.  It is an interesting inventory of clothing, books, toys, games, and miscellanea that we classified as:  1) not furniture, or cutlery, or dining ware, or appliances--for all that will be provided in our furnished housing, 2) not so important to our daily lives that we need it between now and August, 3) not so absolutely important or precious that we can't risk losing or damaging it, 4) not so unimportant that we are going to get rid of it with this move, and, the kicker, 5) not anything that failed to fit in a maximum 18x18x24 inch box with a weight limit of around 50 lbs.

If anyone takes a close look at the inventory, they will wonder about us.  Book titles, equally divided between esoteric educational philosophy, practical leadership theory, theater history and pragmatics, young adult fiction and Dr. Seuss.  A lot of family games.  Random clothing, and an inordinate number of stuffed animals, many of whom have been put to work on the journey padding and holding other items firmly in place--like foam peanuts with personality.

For the rest of it, if it doesn't fit in our two suitcases each, in August...it is staying behind.  I guess we'll have to buy replacements.  That will include the gamut of electric and electronic items that will need to run on 220V instead of 110V.

As for what is left here, the things we love, including a lot of our furniture, and souvenirs from our last overseas adventure, will go into storage.  And, there is going to be one heck of a garage sale.

Folks are asking:  "Is it stressful?"  I guess it would be more so, if we hadn't done this before.  It does require thought, planning, effort, and a "one bite of the elephant at a time" kind of attitude.  But we know it will all work out fine.

In the end, the "stuff" part of a big move helps you remember what is important.  

It isn't stuff.