Fresh Eyes, Deep Breath

I'm running on adrenaline and anxiety today.  I'm trying to get prepared for being out of town and the to do list keeps growing and I'm rushing through things and making mistakes.  I remembered my previous post about writing therapy and I remembered something I filed away early this morning so here I am at the keyboard.  I'm breathing with the rhythm of my fingers and taking a moment to reflect and share.

I love visiting college campuses.  When I'm traveling somewhere I always try to see any campuses nearby.  I have some favorites.  I really enjoyed exploring UCLA.  I took a very long uphill run to see the stadium at U of Michigan.  University of Northern Florida has signs warning about alligators right near the quad where students walk.  One of my favorite campuses is smaller Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.  It's a beautiful and tranquil campus.  Of course, I am counting the days until I'm walking around the Duke campus in December.  I love the feel of a college campus.  There's so much promise, so much hope, so much excitement.  And, there's history.  The buildings are all so unique and usually ornate.  Campuses tell a story.  I love to read that story.

I spend most of my life on the campus of the University of Wyoming.  I attended as a student long ago.  I've returned and I have an office with a great view of Half Acre gym.  Below me children from the Lab School run and play.  I am here nearly every day.  I think I just simply have grown accustomed to my surroundings and I often take them for granted.

This morning I had an early meeting on the other side of campus.  I was walking a path I've walked so many times before but I was reflecting on a class discussion and thinking about my writing and I began to see my campus with fresh eyes.  I was caught up for a few minutes in the wonder of it all.  I have often cursed campus in the midst of a blizzard but on a fall morning it is beautiful.  The buildings are amazing and huge and spread out in a vast array around the still green grass of Prexy's pasture.  I get to work here.  I get to be a part of it every day.  It's pretty incredible when I take time to think back to a time when I was a freshman taking it all in for the first time.  I would have never believed that one day I'd be back teaching students like myself.  What a crazy wonderful journey. How blessed am I?

I was talking about writing with some students.  You see, when we discuss a topic there is an interaction and exchange and we tune out at times thinking about what we want to interject next. When someone shares their writing it's different.  It's not a verbal exchange.  It creates a space for truly listening without interruption and, therefore, has the power to allow us to hear another's perspective if we allow it to be so.   Writing has power.  Sharing writing has power.  It can give us fresh eyes.  Today, as I looked at my campus, I had a new perspective and it was a gift.  Writing can do this for our students.  If we allow them time to process their thoughts, write them down, and share them we create the space for others to listen and ponder and to be open to possibilities.  It sounds so romantic but it is real.  It's an opportunity.  Think of the words throughout history that have changed us, for better or worse.

Now through some writing therapy I'm ready to take a deep breath and tackle the rest of my color coded to do list before heading off to the Teach to Lead Summit with some members of my writing family to learn how to better support Wyoming's teachers.  If I could only get a new perspective on laundry and packing...