Thinkin' and movin' around

"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self."—Aldous Huxley

So I'm heavily into the throes of interviewing for a new job, trying to figure out some life-path "right fit" issues, pondering loss of the old job, and missing a dear community that is changing faster that I can predict......

The main theme of yesterday for me was the people we meet, and how we consider them, and how we in turn consider ourselves. . In a particularly busy day of getting hit in the face with lots of unavoidable decisions, I was lucky to have spent a morning chatting with a fFriend who happens to be be a "birthright Quaker". After all my extensive Quaker readings and musings, I was eager to find out how that experience was different from my intense, but brief (VERY brief) involvement with Quakerism. Very eager. Jumpy-puppy-dog-at-the-kibble-bowl eager, in fact.

Astounding conclusion? What of that life-lived-as-a-Quaker experience, seeing the world through that lens of inner light? Apparently not quite as astoundingly life-changing as I thought. In fact, in his particular case, the chronological length of his Quaker path doesn't really seem to be important at all.

The DEPTH however of that "Quakerish" nature is apparent in his every moment, every action, every word he utters. Because despite an alarmingly long list of academic achievements and accolades, he's still just a guy treating everybody the way they deserve to be treated, with kindness and fairness and equality. And maybe being a Quaker for a long time helps to form those actions. Maybe it's in his nature first to be that way, and that's why he stayed a Quaker. And maybe none of that background really matters, especially if you're the one he's speaking with!

The latter part of my day was spent discussing my own list of past experiences, in an interview process that I had suspected would be me "competing" with others for the job. It didn't turn out that way at all - I met a wonderful principal and shared some great time swapping stories of my happier moments of teaching, watching kids grow and blossom into musicians, but more importantly as the people of value that they're destined to be. Since we just finished our busy concert week, those kiddos were foremost in my mind, along with the wonderful staff at my school who I will miss dearly if I go. Those thoughts certainly colored my discussions in the interview process. I am not quite sure if that was "acceptable" but boy did it feel great. I left not really concerned about "getting the job", but so pleased I'd had a great afternoon sharing some wonderful moments of teaching.

I have been doing a lot of musing, on Sundays and I guess all the other days too, of about how meeting for worship goes so much better when I arrive already emotionally/mentally/spiritually prepared for it. I have been very aware as of late that my best days in general are always the ones that start with my 5:30 a.m. walk on the beach. I missed that walk yesterday, as it was raining, but I still got the centering I needed from that early conversation over coffee. The focus on people and not just the "stuff" of my own life helped me greatly. Apparently I was doing quite well later on in the day, still in that mindset when in that interview.

So as I look to all the open "windows" on my laptop - a c.v. that needs a little tweaking, emails from parents to my administration pleading with them to keep me on staff, an imposing deadline for an all-but-the-check-and-hit-send doctoral program application (stall stall stall), a new school song to be arranged and which may be my legacy as I leave...

It would help me to stay in this mindset, and just focus on the to-do lists not as items, but taking them each as one person at a time. And isn't it nice that yesterday I got a gentle nudge in that direction when I most needed it?