Bird Droppings September 5, 2024
Can we change things?

“Therefore, the shortage of effective teachers is not a problem that can be solved by a new structure. It is caused by how we train and manage teachers and can only be solved by improving the way we do this, no matter what the structure of the school. Teachers who are effective managers will be effective in any school setting, but they will be less effective if they are managed differently from the way they manage students. The good teachers we remember should be especially revered because, in most cases, they had the strength to manage students far better than they themselves were managed.” Dr. William Glasser

I opted to do some computer work, searching my files for sources and citations. My wife and I searched for a Sesame Street t-shirt for Halloween at her office.  About seven years ago, I went on a road trip with my sons and one of their friends to the Colombia South Carolina Reptile Expo to look at snakes, lizards, and such. Eight hours in the car and taking pictures of King Cobras and Eyelash vipers makes for an exciting day. My youngest son was nonstop, nearly six hundred miles away, cracking jokes or at least getting the joke started, and reminiscing over old times was fantastic.

“We cannot change anything unless we accept it.” Carl Jung, 1875-1961, Swiss psychiatrist

We face change daily, and often, it is the change we do not want to bear. This morning, I had someone ask me why I take sunrise pictures. I could have answered cynically because no one else does, or perhaps because I like to send one to my wife each morning, or even gotten into a spiritual leaning aspect of the sun rising in the east, a sacred direction in native tradition.  The other day, as I rode out to get sunrise photos, I wondered if it was daylight savings time yet. I noticed my car clock did not automatically change last time, as did my iPhone. So, I think daylight savings is purely artificial and has nothing to do with nature or reality. Perhaps I should consult Jung’s texts about my childhood dream of a red-tailed hawk in my old backyard. Jung was a great believer in dreams and dream analysis. I have been torn on the idea of change. What part can we play in this great cosmic drama? Can we alter our minute parts? What if we redirect the lines and switch characters in midstream?

“Whatever the universal nature assigns to any man at any time is for the good of that man at that time.” Marcus Aurelius

There are two basic premises in reality. We are the center of the universe and a focal point; many people feel that way. The other is we are simply a small piece of a large puzzle, one insignificant little piece, yet the whole is incomplete without it.

“The men and woman who make the best boon companions seem to have given up hope of doing something else…some defects of talent or opportunity has cut them off from their pet ambition and has thus left them with leisure to take an interest in the lives of others. Your ambition may make him keep his thoughts at home. But the heartbroken people — if I may use the word in a mild, benevolent sense — the people whose wills are subdued to fate give us consolation, recognition, and welcome.” John Jay Chapman

A deep thought, though I would beg to differ. Maybe it is how I read the passage, yet I cannot help but think of Albert Switzer and Mother Theresa, who gave up promising careers to help others. This far supersedes any success that might have been met in their other possible pathways. Giving in to fate, I do not see these two great humanitarians as such but as embracing life and leaving self aside so they can help others. Perhaps our definition of what is real and significant matters.

“Whatever limits us, we call fate.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

We become limited by semantics by words that try to define and offer parameters to perhaps limitless ideas and thoughts. We all seem to want parameters for whatever we do. I watch teenagers setting boundaries and limits and barriers every day. Some will be cultural and societal, others closer to home, perhaps religious and spiritual. We want definition in our lives. We want to say well, this person is this or that. We like stratifying and categorizing in our lives. I was working with a student on test scores, explaining that two people could have tested the same on a personality test and still be different people. While a test is normed and validated, it still has limitations that change with each person taking it.

Some people see far more in a Rorschach inkblot test and details, while a less artistic person may only see a face or a rabbit. Picasso saw myriads of colors and shapes, and we see a hodge podge of paint, which we call abstract or cubist because of the lack of better terminology to define and delineate his work. Maybe we should say it is Picassian unique to an artist who saw differently than we other mortals.

Even in writing, I enjoyed reading Edgar Allan Poe. I had the experience of talking with and assisting in publishing an author’s work years ago who confessed to being the incarnation of Poe, ridiculous as it may sound. It was a bizarre period in my life as I spent many hours on the phone and reading his work. First, he looked like Poe and was an idiot savant. He could spin words and phrases instantly. When he would meet you, he would immediately give you a poem, often handwritten in beautiful calligraphy of the acronym of your name. He would write a poem, each line starting with a letter from your name, spelling out your name, and analyzing your personality. While working with this fellow, as weird as this sounds, hundreds of crows would flock to my yard all day at my house, which was in a pasture. When I sent the last of his work to him, the birds disappeared.

“When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate.” Carl Jung

Reading over the years, I came literally by accident one day upon a book; I was floundering business-wise and saw an ad for a free business analysis. I called and was assured it was free and that I would sign up to use this consulting firm if all went well in the analysis. I signed, and after two days, he informed me I should close my doors. It was not a shock since my largest customer had changed from print to software and was a major part of my business. After submitting his business thoughts, he told me about a book he thought I should read, “The Celestine Prophecy” by James Redfield. It is a new age book, he said. He wrote the name and author on a piece of paper, which I stuck in my wallet for my next trip to Borders. It was several Borders trips later, and I forgot about the book; while walking down an aisle, a book fell and hit me in the head. Surprisingly enough, guess which book. The book contains nine supposed insights recorded in ancient times and written in an archaic ancient language not used in 3000 years. The point here is the fourth insight from Redfield’s book.

“The Struggle for Power – Too often, humans cut themselves off from the greater source of this energy and so feel weak and insecure. To gain energy, we tend to manipulate or force others to give us attention and thus energy. When we successfully dominate others in this way, we feel more powerful, but they are left weakened and often fight back. Competition for scarce human energy is the cause of all conflict between people.” James Redfield, The Celestine Prophecy

As I read this earlier, all the struggles and attention-seeking of students versus teachers and Carl Jung’s teachings fell into place. Amazingly, as I looked at my starting passage from Dr. Glasser, administrators also do this. It is about drawing power from teachers. We draw energy from others to replace the energy we are lacking. We are lacking because we are not generating but simply using a parasitic relationship. I have developed a chart on student-teacher feedback over the years, which could easily be people-to-people feedback. One of the lowest, most primordial levels is parasitism, where we feed off other’s energy. The second level is symbiosis, where each one needs the other independently of each other and yet inseparable. The third level is osmosis, where energy is freely given and exchanged back and forth. I have been using bits and pieces of this idea as I develop my dissertation.

Albert Switzer and Mother Teresa worked this way; they never sought energy but received it by giving to others in an ongoing exchange. Students and teachers exhibit bits and pieces of these forms of human interaction. We were returning to my starting quote: understanding where you are and why is paramount to changing and the ability to grow and truly help others and yourself. A few years back, I went out into the rain, a cold drizzle of sorts. Rain has a way of quieting the air and forest. It was silent, muffled by the rain and heavy air. Our dog did not like the rain and hurried back inside, curling up on her blankets as soon as she was back in her room. I sat down, unsure of which direction I would go in today, and wandered as I often do. But perhaps my point is we need each other, we do need interaction, and we can change. We are not at the mercy of fate or some cosmic puzzle unless we choose to be, yet we are all part of that puzzle.

It is a paradox of sorts, as is so much of life. Today, please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and hearts, and always give thanks namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,

Mitakuye Oyasin

(We are all related)

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