The Awakening
What I gave up
to write certain pieces
was my skeptical eye,
my rapier wit,
the attitude I had assumed to puncture
my own adolescent view of life
with the sharp stiletto of my mind.
What I sacrificed
was the joy
of deconstruction,
the pleasure of deflation
of the sentimental,
the flowery,
the inept.
What I gained
was a new way of looking,
a means to know
that spirit was paramount,
that kindness was more valuable
than sensibility,
that feeling took precedence
over analysis,
that, yes, love was in fact the
answer,
that we are all one
like it or not,
and I did not know everything
and in fact knew very little
about anything,
and was grateful
for my illumination,
and so now give thanks
to "whomever it may concern."
Dorothy Walters
August 26, 2017
(When we go to graduate school and thus are initiated into academia, it is easy to imagine that we are somehow superior to many others, for indeed we have certain insights and particular points of view that set us apart from the rest. We tend to be judgmental and measure others by their sensibilities rather than their innate goodness of character. If we are lucky, we outgrow these elitist views and relate to others in a different way, one that sees such traits as kindness and compassion as valuable indicators of true merit.
However, I want to add that I value education as such and feel it is important to learn to think and know and learn from the wisdom of our ancestors. I simply would like to see teaching prize lessons of spirit and body as well as those of the mind, and thus enable us to grow into the fullness of what we are.)
(image from internet)