Be still

For the first time in GLOBAL history, the world has stood in silence, together, with one common problem and one realization, we are in this together and at the end of the day, we are all human. So now what will you do with it?

Today I walked in to the school with uncertainty and panic and I walked out with even more uncertainty and but yet a strange calm and clarity. My eyes are open, I am silent and I’m listening. Are you?

My class and I found out about the school closure together, at the same time. I sat there, in front of the class speechless, looking at their faces, which were turned to me for answers. There were tears and there were cheers. I didn’t know how to react.

I was uncertain how I even felt about the school closure as I too have had my own worries. I’m a mom and a teacher, finding this all out and processing it in front of 20 teenagers, without the ability to discuss it and digest the news with my colleagues first. Mom emotions, work emotions and uncertainty all in a ten second stand still.

And then…. I started talking, and my life started to make sense.

And this is what I said with a smile, a calm excitement and clarity.

“We are okay. We will be okay and the world will continue to spin. We have each other and this world is meant to be lived side by side with our neighbors and that is what we are being called to do. With God by my side, faith in my heart and hope on my tongue we will be okay.”

Then, I took a step back ….. and I stepped outside the tornado.

See, the world is chaos and for a while now, I haven’t been having much luck trying to make sense of it all. So much hate, so much change, ( I don’t like change) so many new rules and ways, so many injustices and uncertainties. I’m a very positive person and I take pride and happiness in helping other feel good too. I find the good in everyday, and in everyone. I take deep breaths, I meditate, I take care of others, and I make sure I am the good I want to see in the world.

Long pause.............................But it’s been increasingly hard this year. I have seen it in my mind as a black tornado that has swept us up. It feels like we have no choice because the winds are so great and it is so scary. The winds are so great that we even close our mouths when we want to scream and call for help and we hold our breath. We do our best and shield ourselves from the oncoming debrea, hoping that soon the winds will calm and we will be set back on the ground. our hope keeps vanishing as we get tossed around and around and things feel out of control.

The tornado may have just set us down………. we are being asked to be still globally.

I stopped and looked at my students and realized something as a teacher and said it out-loud.

“YOU ARE MY FUTURE. You are the people my sons will look up too. You will make the rules, change the rules and decide what is and important not only in your lives but our world as a whole as well. You are already making news and shaping the world. You come to school to learn about history, but today, you are being written into the history books and you must realize that you now have the ability to change the trajectory of your life and others.

At young ages, your great grandparents and your descendants endured the hardest of times. Holocaust, World wars, atomic bombs, depression, residential schools, no electricity, no water, rationing food and the list goes on. We are blessed. Not without our own difficulties, but we are blessed. What are you called to do in this global time of need? Stay indoors and reflect. You’ve got this.

You have, for the first time in history, stood still with the rest of the world in a global crisis which will shape our world from now on. Our world is NEW! These buildings, these classrooms, the ideals, cars, phones, pollution, chaos, business etc. they are all VERY new in the world. And maybe….this isn’t working??

Maybe new isn’t the best. Maybe instead of waiting for this to blow over, you can stop and think about what you will do WHILE it blows over. Use this time to live out our faith, slow down, learn something new, become self sufficient, be with family and see people around you for the beating heart and the brilliant mind in their head instead of the close they wear or the car they drive. Value people for their kindness and love instead of their hair cut or tick tocks. Our priorities and measurements of success are WRONG. Life success is not counted by the likes on your social media post or the money in your bank. I believe it’s time to move away from social and societal dependency, discrepancies and approval. I believe it is time to stop the chaos, the hate and the ridiculous social rituals that “others” deem important. FIND WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU AND YOUR SOUL.

I truly believe that “someone” is screaming "STOPPPPPPP! Stop it, stop it, stop it."

WHY would we continue to go in a direction that is destined for failure? Why would we continue on a course that makes us sick, and unhappy and torn apart at the seams. At this speed, could we keep it up? Stop being dependent on others approval, unplug and become your own successful because your happiness isn’t in the screen, it’s out here in the world.

Right now, we are making history and even though life will continue, it may never be the same. MAKE something of the next six months and reevaluate your life and how you want to live it. For the first time ever, you get to rewrite the course of the world, YOUR world. You get to stand still with nature and say no more of this. Or you can wait until it’s all over and join in again.”

We have tried to navigate this world, keeping up with the chaos and the clutter and the intensity of societal demands. The money, the fame the SCREWED UP priorities, the dark tornado that has been sweeping this world. But who puts those demands in place? And who says we must follow those? If we just witnessed history being made that means we are in it, this means that our future plans may look very different than we ever thought, and shame on us to think we were ever invincible.

I DARE you to walk out in nature RIGHT NOW, look up at the sky and trees, take a deep breath……..breath in that crisp fresh air with the sun on your face and say:

“I want chaos, I want hate and I want to talk badly about people, I don’t want to know my kids, I want to be socially dependent and live by rules that others put in place. I want my self worth to come from likes on my posts and I don’t want nature. I don’t want my kids to know the soil and how to be sufficient and independent. I want to continue down the path others have laid out for me”

It doesn’t fit does it? That sounds terrible doesn’t it? It feels and sounds wrong, yet we live it every day, even if you live it indirectly.

Two things are certain in life, we live and then we die. The in-between is OURS. I have decided to step outside of that tornado and create my own sunshine and, I hope you do the same.

Calling me out after my rant, one of my students asked me what I was going to learn…… “canning.” I replied. “I’m going to learn how to can my own food.”

During this time I challenge the world and my students to read (or listen) to books that challenges their comfort and teaches them the power of the mind and promotes self-learning and discovering. (If you need ideas for books PLEASE reach out, I have a million I would love every teenager to read!!!) 

*I challenge them to take this time as reflection because they just got an unprecedented amount of time and freedom past the walls of our school.

*I challenge them that in this time of uncertainty to learn a new craft like sewing, art, cooking, learn the family's secret recipes, real life cooking, baking, canning, gardening, change a tire, change the oil. Fishing, hiking, bird watching, wood working, rebuild an engine, ANYTHING! 

*I challenge them to learn about real life and things they must know as adults like: writing cheques, mortgages, budgeting, investing, parenting, saving, financial, driving, and life planning.

*I challenge them to put their phones down and rediscover themselves. Find out what makes them happy, what makes them tick outside of tick tock! Help them rediscover the world past technology, like the childhood many of us had and wish for them.

The list could go on forever!

May God bless you all.

Love, Mrs. Jordan