I woke up this morning by the furious,fearsome howling of the wind outside my window.I was huddled on one side of the bed,a human shell trying not to take up too much space,in a fetal position.It struck me then.An epiphany at first and then the ideas started cascading quite literally into my head.Why was I trying to take up as little space as possible?I am generally perceived as a dynamic person and am often told as much.My body reacting to those thoughts,stretched itself quite luxuriously across the bed,enjoying the feeling of openness and freedom,relishing in the silence of the early morning hours.I realised,as the onslaught of ideas came in,that I just had to share this. Sadly,it is a phenomenon that is all around us.As a teacher I see it in my students.As a parent, I realise the power I have to either empower my child or make her a shadow of herself.As adults,we use our words and actions to belittle,humiliate and criticise more often than we use them to praise and uplift each other. It is my core belief that the space you occupy in this world,both with your physical and energetic body is precious and sacred and should not be sacrificed.Not for anyone or for any reason.It is a sacriligion and a huge disrespect to ourselves first and subsequently to the world,seeing as we are not fulfilling our full potential and service to our fellow humans and the planet. If we are to take things from the beginning,a child enters this earthly plane in its full glory and light.It is free and joyous.It claims its space unapologetically.As the child grows though,society and people start to stake claims on a child's space.The child is too loud-it must be silenced and obey rules.The child is overly active-it must learn to sit still.The child talks back-it must be punished.Everyone can remember similar instances from their own childhood.At that point in our lives it is determined whether the light,the warrior spirit in us will prevail or if it will be subdued into obedience by societal rules and regulations.Unfortunately,all too often the latter prevails.We see it in the behaviour of the adults today. Enter the school system.It is there that the greatest damage is done.The children are forced to learn heaps of knowledge that may sometimes never prove to be useful,but which they must learn, because those are the rules.They must learn to work and do their homework,because those are the rules.They must obey their teacher,whether good or bad,because those are the rules.They must not talk back or talk to their fellow-student or voice an opinion because they are considered rude and ill-behaved.They must not dare to show their creative side or become absent-minded because they surely must have some kind of disorder.I see those students,year after year becoming more shadows of themselves rather than shine their light.To avoid being considered too set in my opinions,there are exceptions to all cases.There are definitely students who simply cannot be subdued and teachers who are more than willing to help them with all their might.It is an unshakeable belief though,that creativity and variety and quality of knowledge provided are two very underrated and overlooked subjects at schools nowadays and the Ministers of Education or the teachers themselves should take take measures to change that.A very bold,daring change in the school curriculum would work miracles. As we enter adulthood,the symptoms of our upbringing and "education"are pretty evident in our daily transactions.A large percentage of adults suffer from some kind of disorder in their effort not to take up space,not to be seen or noticed or in a desperate attempt to make themselves visible to others in a rather twisted way. Employees bullied by their bosses but afraid to do anything about it,lest they lose their wage.We allow our governments to make decisions for us but not in our best interest.Physically,this is manifested with obesity and anorexia,two of the saddest examples of what damage we can do to our bodies if our perception of self is suppressed and twisted.Drugs,alcoholism and any form of addiction are either ways to hide ourselves some more or a desperate cry for help.Self-isolation,depression and any form of mental illness and self-imposed punishment are some other forms of a skewed,poor self-image,all immediate by-products of our light,our sense of self-worth being dimmed out.It is imperative that this change. It is my heartfelt belief that we are meant to take up a certain amount of space on this planet.Everyone's space is valuable and should not be violated or trodden upon.To ourselves first and subsequently to all others.It is a disservice to us and our fellow humans if we do not honour our space.No matter what our upbringing and education indoctrinated within us,as adults we bear the responsibility for what we will do with our lives.We have to realise that all walls and limitations are perceived,artificial notions which have been hammered into our subconscious by our culturespace and other people's expectations of how we should behave.These limitations are but a learned response to emotional pain,criticism,judgment or disappointment.I say OWN your power,HONOUR your space on this planet.Do not fear yourself.Do not shrink yourself to the point of becoming too small to be noticed.You are necessary and precious.Take full responsibility and ownership of your future and potential and play it all out.Play big.Think big.Do great things with your life. Open your heart and spread your light.Show your gold full out.That is the ONLY way to live life.FULL OUT.OWN IT.ENJOY IT! I'll end my post here,with this beautiful quote by Marianne Williamson,cited to heartwarmingly by a student .If only we could inspire every person,to embrace all that they are.What a world that would be... As always with love and light,
Lia
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August 2021
CategoriesAuthorI am a passionate English teacher.Aspiring writer and speaker.I take educational matters to heart and hope to bring about some positive change in the field of education. |