Chosing what is

I vow to choose what is.
If there is cost, I choose to pay.
If there is need, I choose to give.
If there is pain, I choose to feel.
If there is sorrow, I choose to grieve.
When burning, I choose heat.
When calm, I choose peace.
When starving, I choose hunger.
When happy, I choose joy.
Whom I encounter I choose to meet.
What I shoulder I choose to bear.
When it is my death I choose to die.
Where this takes me, I choose to go.

Being with what is, I respond to what is.
by Hogen Bays


Presence, I've found, is the greatest gift I can give the children when I'm in the classroom. When I am fully present, I can respond more appropriately to what the needs of the group are. Often, a mental dialogue about how things "should" be, and how they "should" look, and how I "should" feel come up. I get really agitated because reality doesn't match what I think "should" be. Instead, when I let go of that thinking and observe, Really observe, without judging, without "should", then I can really see what the path is.

After a very present holiday, with so much play, walking, fun, swimming, and listening, because I think I'm really good at vacation, I try to bring that same quality of attention to school. Being with what "is".