I phoned home the other day and was lamenting about my frustrations, and Brandon snatched the phone from my dad and told me, "Mariah. You came to India to do a job, and I think you should finish that job." I'm glad he spoke up, because later that day I had my second wave of inspiration.
Last Friday I was sitting in the shade with a couple of my students after school, and a man walked up to me and asked me about my job here. He said he was a pastor that worked at a nearby school, and he told me how thankful he was that I was here, that I wanted to inspire them with creativity. He said, "These girls need you. Thank you for being here with them." I didn't realize it then, but after my second wave of inspiration I see it now. A man of God, come to remind me how important my presence is. I really needed that, and Brandon's comment added on really brought me to this revelation:
I'm sick of feeling like I should be doing something else with my time. If I'm putting in all of my effort at teaching, I should be so exhausted at the end of the day that all I want to do is relax. It means I'm doing my job right! If I end up staying home all day reading and writing and yoga-ing and hanging out with the girls at the orphanage, then that's what I want to do with my free time! I can save my sightseeing for later on in my trip, later on in my life. I want to get dirty and sweaty and accomplish my purpose here by being someone's hero! I am the spark of creative energy that they desperately need. That's what I came here to do, and I'm going to finish the job I came here to do.
This has proven to be significantly more difficult at Seva Sadan than at Lady Andal. I think, because they are raised in a lower SES environment, the girls at Seva Sadan aren't as used to being asked to bring their own ideas to life. They may not be given as many choices as the other, higher SES students at Lady Andal. I've seen some growth, though. They are absolutely capable of it. Creativity is innate!
Shiva Rea's TED talk at Burning Man on tending the sacred fire through music and dance,
our inner creative nature.
Looks like you have found a key to reaching the primal soul of humanity. Something innate in all of us. So simple. Many Americans are controlled by the "stoic" form perpetuated by the factory model of education. No wonder so many children want to bust out of that model. They want to get back to their primal being.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this link. It has opened my eyes to a simple revelation, one I have innately known for years. I guess that is why I am a bass player.
Watched this with Dad last weekend...loved the study info on 120 babies. Some pretty strange people in the audience of the video, made me wonder and question about how they gathered this audience. Are these followers or do they run ads for hippies and eclectic people to come to a Ted talk seminar on dance?
ReplyDeleteThis is a TED Talk hosted at Burning Man Festival. It's a huge 2-week long art event in the middle of the desert where 40,000 people come and make a city in the desert. I've always wanted to go. Here's info: http://www.burningman.com/whatisburningman/
Deleteburning man. we should make our trinity reunion be at a festival.
ReplyDelete