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Looking in a different direction to start the morning
Bird Droppings January 8, 2025Looking in a different direction to start the morning “Beginnings start in the east – from where the sun rises, we begin a new dawn. Each day is a good new day with a fresh beginning, a new start. East is the direction of the physical body and newness, including children…
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Can we define our success, or does it take another?
Bird Droppings January 7, 2025Can we define our success, or does it take another? Recently, teachable moments have been rare, as I have been very monastic between retirement, grandchildren, and cautious awareness. Yesterday, while grocery shopping, I ran into a former student of sorts. I think she was in a class with me when I…
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The symbolism of the Totem Pole
Bird Droppings January 6, 2025 The symbolism of the Totem Pole Growing up in my family, my father had made numerous totem poles in our backyards over the years. Each was painted with images of creatures. Eagles, bears, and wolves adorned the totem poles. The last one was torn down or fell only a few…
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Passion for learning: Can it be rekindled?
Bird Droppings January 5, 2025Passion for learning: Can it be rekindled? April 4, 1968, I was a freshman at West Chester State, now University. I was not seriously politically active, and I would say naïve. I do recall the news stories and the tension that followed. I grew up in a town where the people…
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All in words: we find them, how we use them, and perhaps others’ perceptions.
Bird Droppings January 3, 2025 All in words: we find them, how we use them, and perhaps others’ perceptions. “The farmer channels water to his land. The fletcher whittles his arrows. And the carpenter turns his wood. So, the wise direct their mind.” Dhammapada Many years ago, there was a folk song entitled “If I…
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LIFE and FINALITY, two words that, as we get older, seem to be a part of our daily process.
Bird Droppings January 1, 2025LIFE and FINALITY, two words that, as we get older, seem to be a part of our daily process. Morning has been a special time for me each day, a new beginning. Several aspects make it special; the first one is taking pictures of sunrises. Then I ran some errands, started…
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Pondering and wondering are such powerful tools.
Bird Droppings December 30, 2025 Pondering and wondering are such powerful tools. Several years back, we started a school-wide vocabulary word of the week. I was reminded of this as I looked through my various files for quotes. About eight years ago, as the day wound down, an email from the head of the English…
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Teachers need to consult their hearts more
Bird Droppings December 29, 2025 Teachers need to consult their hearts more I was amazed when I walked out this morning to the car. It was 58 degrees, and a few frogs were still chirping away. I was going through some research material and pulled out a little book. It has been several years since…
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Forgiving is more than words; it is an action.
Bird Droppings December 28, 2025Forgiving is more than words; it is an action. “Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty.” St. Augustine As I grow older, I find our window in this reality is getting smaller compared to all that has…
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Reconciliation of trust
Bird Droppings December 27, 2025Reconciliation of trust I came upstairs to look at my photos this morning and to write a morning Birddroppings. I thought back a couple of years. I was talking with my wife; she was headed to a funeral in Dublin, Georgia, for her aunt, who had just passed away. Her G.P.S.…
The daily meanderings of a teacher 