An Ordinary Hero
Good Day All!
Well, I missed the eclipse last night. Drat. Darn. My neighbors have described it as really awesome and extraordinary. One of the benefits of living out here in the boon docks is the extraordinary nighttime skies. And to see an eclipse on a full moon, well, that's something else. I'll catch the next one to be sure.
I happened to watch the Freedom Writers movie last night. If you haven't seen it, you must.What I love is that it is a true story about ordinary heroes. (see link)
The story is about a young, fresh-out-of-college teacher, Erin Gruwell, who takes a job teaching freshman English in war-torn by gangs, Wilson High School. Bless her heart, Erin wears her pearls, all dressed up for her first day of school. What she finds is children so encased in pain and hatred, drama and violence in their personal lives, they have absolutely no capacity to listen to her try to teach Homer. Even to the viewer, one can see how enormous the gulf between Erin's reality and the kids'.
And then she has her opportunity when a nasty cartoon is passed about the class. You can see the gears clicking into place in her head. The gang thing, the hatred, the fear, the Nazi's. She clobbers them with the Holocaust. Trouble is, they've never heard of it. And the light goes on for her, the way "in". She takes it. She teaches them through the writings of another young teen, Anne Frank.
What makes Erin Gruwell so special in my opinion? She never lost herself, never buckled in the face of the "system", and more important - she saw Who They Really Were. She even tells one of her students who gives himself an "F" for the course, "I see you!"
And there, quite simply, is the Gift. Seeing the divinity in someone, especially when they can't even see or even know it for themselves. I call this holding the space. I know Who We Really Are even when we least look like it - God having this earth adventure.
Anne Frank was my first heroine ever. I met her watching our local high school doing the play. I think I was about 11 years old when I first saw it. I cried, of course, through the play; but I remember the whole thing being redeemed for me by her last words, "I still believe people are good at heart." I sighed, relieved of the pain, because I knew that Truth, too. I still do.
So today my blog is devoted to this ordinary heroine, Erin Gruwell. And now, of course, to the students themselves, whose lights are turned back on. Remember Who You Are...and more importantly - that's who everyone else is too...no matter what they present to you. We each and everyone, no exclusions, are God having a human adventure. Sometimes all it takes it for only one person to refuse to believe the mask you offer.
Today, look into the eyes of everyone you meet with the intention of really Seeing Who They ARE. Masks off.....I see YOU.
Ordinary people with the extraordinary Godchip - Applied Spirituality in form.
Thanks for reading!
Kath
Well, I missed the eclipse last night. Drat. Darn. My neighbors have described it as really awesome and extraordinary. One of the benefits of living out here in the boon docks is the extraordinary nighttime skies. And to see an eclipse on a full moon, well, that's something else. I'll catch the next one to be sure.
I happened to watch the Freedom Writers movie last night. If you haven't seen it, you must.What I love is that it is a true story about ordinary heroes. (see link)
The story is about a young, fresh-out-of-college teacher, Erin Gruwell, who takes a job teaching freshman English in war-torn by gangs, Wilson High School. Bless her heart, Erin wears her pearls, all dressed up for her first day of school. What she finds is children so encased in pain and hatred, drama and violence in their personal lives, they have absolutely no capacity to listen to her try to teach Homer. Even to the viewer, one can see how enormous the gulf between Erin's reality and the kids'.
And then she has her opportunity when a nasty cartoon is passed about the class. You can see the gears clicking into place in her head. The gang thing, the hatred, the fear, the Nazi's. She clobbers them with the Holocaust. Trouble is, they've never heard of it. And the light goes on for her, the way "in". She takes it. She teaches them through the writings of another young teen, Anne Frank.
What makes Erin Gruwell so special in my opinion? She never lost herself, never buckled in the face of the "system", and more important - she saw Who They Really Were. She even tells one of her students who gives himself an "F" for the course, "I see you!"
And there, quite simply, is the Gift. Seeing the divinity in someone, especially when they can't even see or even know it for themselves. I call this holding the space. I know Who We Really Are even when we least look like it - God having this earth adventure.
Anne Frank was my first heroine ever. I met her watching our local high school doing the play. I think I was about 11 years old when I first saw it. I cried, of course, through the play; but I remember the whole thing being redeemed for me by her last words, "I still believe people are good at heart." I sighed, relieved of the pain, because I knew that Truth, too. I still do.
So today my blog is devoted to this ordinary heroine, Erin Gruwell. And now, of course, to the students themselves, whose lights are turned back on. Remember Who You Are...and more importantly - that's who everyone else is too...no matter what they present to you. We each and everyone, no exclusions, are God having a human adventure. Sometimes all it takes it for only one person to refuse to believe the mask you offer.
Today, look into the eyes of everyone you meet with the intention of really Seeing Who They ARE. Masks off.....I see YOU.
Ordinary people with the extraordinary Godchip - Applied Spirituality in form.
Thanks for reading!
Kath
Labels: Anne Frank, applied spirituality, Erin Gruwell, Freedom Writers, heroes, heroines, ordinary people
posted by Kath at
2:23 PM
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