If It Is To Be, It's Up To Me (We)

flickr photo via fdecomite

As I seek clarity and inspiration during very difficult times a reflection on a long ago conversation with my fellow nemeticists has once again got me thinking. As the entire population of the world is wishing for an upcoming new year that puts at least some of our troubles behind us, (and there are many,) it's vitally important to stay grounded and focused on our fundamental purpose. To do this we have to know what our fundamental purpose is. I believe that, more than anything else, we need to be in the story-writing business. The world we all share is one big story written by history. When we focus on writing and telling our own stories whether they be good, bad or indifferent, we become active participants and action is after all, what hope thrives on. Hope without action is just wishful thinking.

As we do our best to cope with the world as it stands right now, it's so useful to remember that everyone  arrives where they're at with a story that contains many, many chapters already written. Every single one of us possesses our own stories... it's the fractal narrative that each one of us brings to the table; our personal history. When we weave these narratives, they begin to evolve into a giant, interactive, interesting and engaging story with infinite subplots.

How ironic it is then, that so many of us will feel quite alone as we try our best to forge on. Changes will occur and change can make us anxious and stressed, unable to escape from the islands of uncertainty that so many of us feel. But that's the point; we share these feelings. We are not alone. We are living the human condition together and our collective story is a sum total of each one of our individual stories... every chapter that's written. If we can understand and embrace the fact that our stories bind us together, albeit as experienced from each of our unique perspectives, perhaps we can let go of some of the isolation we feel and begin a new mission to hear each other's stories. Doing so will help us see that we are truthfully not alone. We are connected within our networks of lived experiences that in ways we don't even realize, and the more we become aware of each other, the more we become aware of our connectedness; how our stories are interwoven. We have never been alone in truth, only in perception.

Sharing the stories we have already written opens our eyes to each other and creates opportunities to collaborate on the chapters that have yet to be written... the living that will take place; the friends we will make; the challenges we will overcome... the tales that will evolve into evidence-based hope that we're on the right track. We shouldn't be writing these stories alone. As we weave our narrative webs together, we emerge ever-closer to the dreams we all possess; the chapters we help each other write.

Perhaps Michael (@ToughLoveforX) said it best years ago. We were talking about ethical frameworks in education, and particularly about who is responsible for ensuring things are done righteously and responsibly. I have always believed that so much can be gained from people taking personal responsibility for the directions they move. In college on my way to becoming a teacher I used to write the phrase "if it is to be, it's up to me" inside the cover of each of my notebooks to remind myself of this belief, and to motivate me to keep striving to work harder and be better. In education, the fractal efforts of each single teacher across the system amounts to one massive movement forward toward positive education improvement if every one of us agrees to take this stance. Michael put a spin on the phrase changing it to "if it is to be, it's up to we." Brilliant.

Teachers have to be what they want education to be. We all need to be what we want the world to be. We have to talk to each other about improving our human condition, and we have to support each other's efforts in doing that. We have to do this. So much can be accomplished through this collaborative, focused and unified effort. The time some of us spend pointing fingers and complaining about negative influences "beyond our control" would be so much better spent doing good, getting results and sharing them as broadly and unapologetically as we can.

We are here in the world together; it's happening now. Every chance we get to tell our stories is a new opportunity to embrace now. We need to talk collectively about what we want for ourselves; where we want it to go and what it should be. If it is to be, it's up to we.

Comments

Popular Posts