Content

Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
— Tao Te Ching, translated by Stephen Mitchell

I am grateful that these first weeks of school have been slow and deliberate. I notice that I've over planned for every day, and am instead now moving toward spontaneity. Instead of focusing on teaching and talking, I am more aware of listening. Instead of acting, observing. There have been beautiful surprises in restraint. New children that suddenly figure things out when no one stepped in to help. Like exchanging a smile all the way across the room with a three year old who was waiting so still for his turn at the snack table. Or one of my old friends, now almost six, who brought me three little wild passion fruits wrapped in tin foil after I mentioned not being able to find any more on my afternoon walks with the dogs. The day moves quickly, but I feel slow and present.