My city is alive with children and their families. My oldest son started high school earlier this week and my youngest two kids began this morning…they took the bus to school today with their mom, which was a first. We are lucky to have that option! As I drove our oldest through the city to drop him off, I encountered many families walking and waiting for public transportation, for the public school system also starts today. The vibrancy throughout San Francisco is palpable, and I love the refreshing nature of each new academic year in education.
This reflection, The Small Rectangle, provided me with a new resource for approaching perspective with a growth mindset. As an optimist, I sincerely appreciate the focus on the positive. Here’s to the school year ahead!
Today I also read this nice review of Jon Batiste’s new release, World Music Radio. You can read it here in the NY Times. Enjoy listening to one of the songs below, “Calling Your Name.” Blessings on your week ahead.
This week I finished the book Leadership is a Relationship on a plane, and am pleased to share the except (depicted) on everyday practices to inform our approach to leadership. I also read this pearl of wisdom (below) the other day in my daily reflection resource, Give Us this Day. And I am pleased to share a song by artist Gaby Moreno, who I also read about this week given that she will be performing in San Francisco later this fall at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.
Blessings on your week ahead!
To be fashioned in the image of God is to be life-giving, generative, and imaginative. All of us are gifted with this potential. We’re not merely consumers, we’re creators! To the point – create more than you consume. Create peace and justice. Create connection between diverse peoples. Create art and music. Plant, grow, cultivate life. Create love and support for family, friends, and community. Our gifts, whatever they may be, are to be used to bring about a more life-giving world.
-Michael Peterson, OSB
FRONTERAS (Borders)
–Gaby Moreno–
There’s a path that brought us here.
It knows nothing about the borders of the passion inside of me.
Longing is what pushes me forward with every new sunrise,
with my fears, illusions, and the remains of yesterday.
Hope is with us.
With it nothing can stop us.
I (go) holding you hand, and you (go) holding mine;
This week I picked my youngest kids up from overnight summer camp, dropped my oldest off at high school orientation, and squeezed in a hike with all three of them at a favorite trail in Marin County – this one leads to the ocean, and I appreciated a few minutes at the beach to think and soak in the fresh air.
I read this reflection the other day and appreciated its perspective on that which is most important. The descriptive words stand out to me. Enjoy! Blessings on your week ahead.
In contrast to every other kingdom that have been and ever will be, [the Kingdom of God] belongs to the poor. Jesus said, and to the peacemakers, the merciful, and those how hunger and thirst for God. In this kingdom, the people from the margins and at the bottom rungs will be lifted up to places of honor, seated at the best spots at the table. This kingdom knows no geographical boundaries, no political parties, no single language or culture. It advances not through power and might, but through acts of love and joy and peace, missions of mercy and kindness and humility. The kingdom has arrived, not with a trumpet’s sound but with a baby’s cries, not with the vanquishing of enemies but with the forgiving of them, not on the back of a warhorse but on the back of a donkey, not with triumph and a conquest but with a death and a resurrection.
And yet there is more to this kingdom that is still to come, Jesus said, and so we await a day when….justice will roll down like a river…when [all people] will live together in peace.
Since I last wrote, I enjoyed an eighth grade graduation at home with loved ones in town to join my son in his celebration….then my younger two kids frolicked around in the woods for a week at overnight camp….while both my wife and I took part in various end-of-the academic year programs at work. Plus our family also enjoyed a couple different weeks of down time in the mountains of North Carolina and along the coastal town of Manzanita, OR; our recent road trip to Oregon was definitely a highlight of the summer.
Mentally, for me this week marks the start to the new school year and I am feeling (almost) ready. I’ve been blessed by some great family memories this summer along with some fulfilling professional opportunities in Napa, Chicago and Moraga. My cup is full, my daily routine feels balanced (for now)…and I look forward to the excitement ahead.
Yesterday I walked my dog early in the morning, per my daily routine. As my view focused upon the rising sun eclipsing the marine layer on the horizon, I was struck by the beauty and serenity of my neighborhood park. Shortly thereafter I was jarred out of my contemplation by the sight of the bushy tail of a coyote around the corner…and so my dog and I turned around at at a brisk pace toward our destination.
I thought this encounter was symbolic of the pace of this time of year. I cherish moments of reflection in the midst of the frantic activities of the conclusion of a school year. At home and at work, a flurry of celebrations, concluding rituals, and pressing priorities are buffered by experiences of joy, laughter, and fun. The summer awaits.
I have spent a good deal of focus in recent months on the concept of inclusion. In particular, the notion of cultivating environments of belonging for young people is a priority for me, as a parent and as an educator. I stumbled upon the below while preparing for an upcoming workshop; this excerpt from a Christian Brothers’ document resonates with me.
Blessings on your week ahead!
“This is perhaps the best expression of our association: to generously provide places where welcome, peace, and respect are lived out and characterized by the acceptance of each person. Places where…being different is an enriching component of community life (Circular 461, 2.3.2).”
I love these weeks that immediately follow the change in Daylight Savings Time. With the extra time each evening, my kids are playing basketball outside for longer periods of time, they’re skateboarding later and their practices are extended just a little bit. It’s as if their childhood reawakens with just a little extra light each evening. Plus the recent full moons have been beautiful.
Today I share this screenshot of a prayer on kindness that sums it all up for me. With this reminder, and the quote on courage, we can enter into this Easter season ahead with a focus on what is most important: spending time with loved ones, practicing courage, and embracing kindness. Blessings on your week ahead!
Today I share some golden nuggets from a few sources of inspiration. Author Thomas Groome and his work, What Makes Education Catholic: Spiritual Foundations, continue to be the focus of my team’s professional development and group learning. And one of Sheryl Crow’s final songs in her Tiny Desk Concert struck a chord with me this week. “Out of Our Hands” is about 20 minutes in, intro’d by a wonderful reflection on compassion from the Dalai Lama.
God is good, as we journey along toward the Resurrection time that serves as the bridge toward hope and peace. Blessings on your week ahead!
From Thomas Groome:
As Catholic educators we can constantly encourage our students to be confident that ultimately no falsehood can become true, no tyranny endure, no oppression triumph, no injustice prevail, no slavery remain, no discrimination become just, no cross be too heavy, no addiction be beyond recovery, no bad habit unbreakable, and the list goes on. What a spiritual foundation of faith-based hope this is for all people, and one in which to ground Catholic education. (p. 36).
Sheryl Crow, Out of Our Heads
If you feel you want to fight me There’s a chain around your mind Something holding you tightly What is real’s so hard to find
Losing babies to genocide Oh, where’s the meaning in that plight Can’t you see that we’ve really bought into Every word they proclaimed and every lie, oh
If we could only get out of our heads Out of our heads and into our hearts If we could only get out of our heads Out of our heads and into our hearts, oh
Someone’s feeding on your anger Someone’s been whispering in your ear You’ve seen his face before You’ve been played before These aren’t the words you need to hear
Through the dawn of darkness, blindly You have blood upon your hands All the world will treat you kindly But only the heart can understand, oh, understand
If we could only get out of our heads Out of our heads and into our hearts Children of Abraham, lay down your fears Swallow your tears and look to your heart
If we could only get out of our heads Out of our heads and into our hearts, oh Children of Abraham, lay down your fears Swallow your tears and look to your heart
Oh, let them go Let them be, let them go
Every man is his own prophet Oh, every prophet just a man I say all the women stand up, say yes to themselves Teach your children best you can
Let every man bow to the best in himself We’re not killing any more We’re the wisest ones, everybody listen ‘Cause you can’t fight this feeling anymore, oh, anymore
If we could only get out of our heads Out of our heads and into our hearts Children of Abraham, lay down your fears Swallow your tears and look to your heart
If we could only get out of our heads Out of our heads and into our hearts Children of Abraham, lay down your fears Swallow your tears and look to your heart
If we could only get out of our heads Out of our heads and into our hearts Children of Abraham, lay down your fears Swallow your tears and look to your heart
If we could only get out of our heads Out of our heads and into our hearts Children of Abraham, lay down your fears Swallow your tears and look to your heart, oh
I have been on a bit of a U2 kick of late. Last week I read Bono’s memoir, Surrender. On Sunday evening, my family and I enjoyed viewing “Homecoming” on Disney+. This music documentary includes U2 bandmates Bono and The Edge, along with David Letterman, as they introduce David to Dublin, Ireland, tell stories, and play music.
I have long admired the music of U2, and have always appreciated Bono’s faith which he wears on his sleeve, through both his lyrics and his activism. I am pleased to share an excerpt from his book below, along with the Tiny Desk concert link which promotes a new compilation of U2 hits that they recently produced. Of course, all of these event and activities are aligned to promote the band itself, which I am also happy to do.
This recent time reading, listening to music, and admiring the art and impact of U2 has reminded me of my family’s Irish roots, at a most appropriate time. Furthermore, I’ve appreciated each of these resources as beneficial to my Lenten prayer and reflection. I hope they may serve a similar purpose for you, and blessings on your week ahead.
“Well, while I hope God is with those of us who live such comfortable lives, I know God is with the poorest and the most vulnerable. In the slums and cardboard boxes where the poor have to play house. In the doorways as we step over the divine on our way to work. In the silence of a mother who has unknowingly infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war, in the bare hands digging for air. God is with the terrorized. At sea with the desperate, clinging onto drowning dreams. God is with the refugee. I hear his only son was one. God is with the poor and vulnerable, and God is with us if we are with them.”
My day began with an early appointment at the dentist. I was fortunate to view most of “The Redeem Team” on Netflix wile undergoing my dental procedure. I recommend it as a resource for an excellent illustration of teamwork, positive coaching, and impact. I’m thinking of watching it with my kids if I learn how to block some of the expletives one might expect from some of the motivational speeches which were depicted.
Today I also listened to “A Bit of Optimism,” one of my regularly listened to podcasts, by organizational theorist and speaker Simon Sinek. His Five Leadership Fundamentals recently left an impression on me, and so I am pleased to share the video from his 2019 keynote outlining these fundamentals. In this keynote Sinek covered five ways leaders can inspire with an “infinite mindset:”
One: Advance a bigger just cause. …
Two: Foster trusting teams. …
Three: Admire worthy rivals. …
Four: Practice existential flexibility. …
Five: Courage to lead.
I reflected on both of these frameworks, from Sinek and from the 2008 US Olympics basketball team, while walking the labyrinth at a local park. I stopped here on my drive back from the dentist this morning, first to walk while I made some phone calls. I then found myself lost in thought a bit while I continued hiking, which was a great blessing.
At the risk of oversimplifying things, I believe that leadership can be distilled into the following characteristics: humility, mission & culture, distributed leadership (aka teamwork) and ethical decision-making. At least that’s my takeaway for today! Blessings on your week ahead.
I have been blessed in recent weeks to take part in meaningful prayer, professional development and growth, and celebration of community with colleagues across the country. Today I share a few resources from some of those gatherings, along with appreciation for the simple things of daily life. My daughter’s wonder at the simple things, the rare, snow-capped mountains of Northern California off in the distance, sharing a great novel with my wife, playing guitar with my sons, and laughing at the office with co-workers….I am grateful. All in the midst of the health challenges of loved ones afar, climate chaos, and discord across many aspects of U.S. Society.
Balancing the juggling act of gratitude with awareness & empathy is a lifelong pursuit.
Blessings on your week ahead!
A Prayer of Welcome
Lord show us the way to deepen our faith in you and in our brothers and sisters.
Lord show us the way to transform our interior life and in doing so transform how we interact with the world around us.
Lord show us the way to peace in our hearts, our families, our communities and our world.
We know the transformative power of welcoming communities.
May we continue to be a community of welcome where your love is witnesses in our relationships with each other.
Lord show us the way to do more and to do better as we strive to serve you.
Keeping the Faith 