Bush Fires in Australia

Bush Fires Consuming Australia

I received this photograph today from a friend.  What a powerful feeling it evoked in me!  For one, it's a reminder of how vulnerable we are to the forces of nature.  I have a friend who lives in Australia.  While visiting for the holidays, he shared with us how worried everyone in his community is about losing their homes to the fires.  He lives in the outskirts of Sydney right next to a nature reserve and the fire was slowly making its way towards his community while he was visiting family and friends for the holidays. I doubt he was able to enjoy himself as much as he would have liked.   I thought maybe the fires were comparable to the ones in California, but they are ten times more deadly and not restricted to just one area, as the photograph shows.  Why is that the inhabitants of this earth do not make climate change a #1 priority?  We have received enough warning signs that we must change our habits or risk losing our planet.  Climate change is not only destroying our biodiversity, it it is causing death from malnutrition and starvation.  It has resulted in massive migrations of people searching for water and food, people who were uprooted from the place they called home and are forced to live in destitute poverty in hostile communities.  I just don't understand why the scientific facts aren't sufficient to convince people that this is a dire problem that will only grow exponentially unless we make it our top priority. We owe it to our children!

Thank you teachers

I am thankful for every teacher I've ever had that has taught me something that stays with me to this day.  Teaching is a selfless job.  No one who is not a teacher can appreciate the multidimensional and sometimes challenging roles that a teacher has to assume on a daily basis, especially in K-12 and pre-school.  Even in high education, however, professors are not just conveyors of knowledge, they need to be attuned to the emotional and psychological needs of their students.  The impact that a teacher can have is priceless.  Thank you teachers!  I raise my glass to you!  Cheers! 

Screen time

I find that I am spending more and more time looking at one screen or another.  This bothers me but I don't know how to avoid it.  Before I only used the computer for sending emails and searching online for teaching resources.  But in the last two years the number of hours I spend in front of my computer and on my cell phone has grown exponentially.  And this trend promises to continue as I learn about different ways that technology can enhance teaching and learning experiences.  A part of me wants to say that teaching is an art, that good teaching comes with time and self-reflection.  I should be able to teach effectively with at most a chalk board nothing else.  I imagine myself standing in the sand on a desert island with nothing but shells, sticks and sand as my tools.  So when I'm faced with the task of learning tech tools I do so with a certain dread that this will mean more time online and in front of the screen that I feel comfortable with.  Perhaps that's because I'm a novice tech user and with time I'll learn how to control the amount of time I am immersed in the cyber world rather than interacting with the physical world around me.  On the other hand, I know that I need to become digitally literate in order to figure out ways to more effectively engage my students.

Mindfulness

https://images.app.goo.gl/jGTA6rQ6SuTCz1Fn8

Besides exercising more, one of the habits that I hope to change in 2020 is to become more mindful.  The practice of mindfulness has been linked to psychological and physical well-being and happiness. Stress is extremely harmful to the body and mind.  Mindfulness helps relieve stress.  A calmer state of mind can lead to a greater level of self-compassion and compassion towards others.  I myself have experienced these benefits.  When my son first started manifesting aspects of his mental illness my husband and I started going to mindfulness meditation classes at a local library to learn how to manage our anxieties and fears.  It took some time to learn how to tune out the emotions in my brain and focus on my body and being in the moment without judgement.  Sometimes it worked better than others.  But when it worked, I definitely felt less anxious, more capable of dealing with life in general, less self-critical and more empathetic towards others, especially my son.  However, a few years ago, I started meditating less as my responsibilities at work and outside of work became greater.  I have missed it and intend to reincorporate mindfulness meditation into my life on a regular basis starting in 2020.

To find out your state of mindfulness, take the following quiz from the Greater Good Magazine published by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.  It's quick and fun!

Mindfulness Quizz

Mindfulness meditation doesn't require going anywhere!  You can do it in your office, your bedroom, or any place else that is quiet.  All it takes is 15 minutes!  This link will take you to a practical article I found in the Greater Good Magazine published by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.

Mindful Breathing Exercise

I hope you enjoy these links!  It's a good place to start to a happier and healthier you!

New Year's Resolution

Inevitably on the 31st of December I spend a lot of time thinking about my New Year's resolutions.  I'm tired of setting goals that are unrealistic and that end up making me feel guilty if I don't succeed.  So for 2020, I'm trying to come up with a plan to change certain habits that will lead to a healthier and happier me.

The first has to do with exercise.  I used to exercise regularly.  I was on the cross-country running club and the soccer team in high school, I played soccer at the university, I used to run regularly.  I ran the Pittsburgh Great Race with my father four years in a row.  I still play tennis but not as much as I'd like to, and I love to ski, I'm no expert, but it's so much fun!  I have ridden my bike to Washington, D.C. on the Great Allegheny Passage (a must do!) and used to go to spinning classes twice a week at the gym.   Then I started working on my doctorate.  All that exercise came to a grinding halt.  This isn't good, especially at my age.

I'm determined to get back in shape.  It's essential for me both physically and mentally, especially given the stressors of taking care of a son with mental health issues, working full-time as a teacher at the university, writing my dissertation, and taking doctoral classes all at the same time.  I know that exercise has always made me feel more energetic and mentally alert, and yet I always have an excuse not to go to the gym.  Until I read the article below.  I had never heard of "pleasure bundling", but it makes sense to me!  Read it and let me know what you think!

Fresh Starts, Guilty Pleasures And Other Pro Tips For Sticking To Good Habits

These series of Podcasts published by National Public Radio (NPR) provide several good tips for transforming your New Year's resolutions into habits:

NPR's Podcast Playlist for Transforming New Year's resolutions into habits

Tell me, do you believe in New Year's resolutions?  What are yours?