How can I give thanks?

Reinhold Marxhausen was a creative colleague who taught at Concordia University in Nebraska. For example, he would take his art students to the city dump on the last class session before the Thanksgiving break, because the dump contained the remnants of all the things that had brought joy to the community that year – the cans that had contained food, the boxes that had protected purchases, the tools and equipment that had outlived their usefulness. The sad end of all these things was a jumbled smelly mess, but Marxhausen appropriately thought that folks ought to recognize and be thankful that this huge pile of junk had actually enhanced their year.
Marxhausen encouraged his students to express their gratitude for such junk by creating artistic expressions out of combinations of the discarded objects—to give them a second life grounded more in aesthetics than utility. The recycled objects would thus become valuable for their own artistic sake. A container would abandon its former existence as a mere protective covering of something that was considered more important at the time, magazine page segments would communicate an entirely different message within a collage, and an inoperative vacuum cleaner would move from the disgrace of being discarded to the transformational prestige of being the base of a funky floor lamp (that then regrettably illuminated the surrounding dust).
Recycling has now become a cultural commonplace. Composted food scraps jump-start next year’s garden. Communities recycle bottles, cans, paper, and cardboard. Someone happily purchases the clothing that others had discarded at a resale shop.
But then, isn’t it also a form of recycling when we turn trees into books and housing, and plants into food and flower arrangements—a technological shift away from their natural state, as it were? It’s this constant shifting of functional states within the biosphere that makes life so interesting and celebratory. Sunflowers in a garden became sunflowers in a vase became Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of sunflowers in a vase became print reproductions that have already added 100 years to the otherwise short lifespan of that mundane vase of sunflowers.
So hooray for a world that gives us multiple opportunities to use, share, and enjoy anything and everything!

reproduced from Gifts and Gratitude By Robert Sylwester, Ed.D.

Creating Web Pages

I found a good and simple way through Google tools. It has helped me a great deal on organizing my scattered thoughts……

Giving thanks

Reinhold Marxhausen was a creative colleague who taught at Concordia University in Nebraska. For example, he would take his art students to the city dump on the last class session before the Thanksgiving break, because the dump contained the remnants of all the things that had brought joy to the community that year – the cans that had contained food, the boxes that had protected purchases, the tools and equipment that had outlived their usefulness. The sad end of all these things was a jumbled smelly mess, but Marxhausen appropriately thought that folks ought to recognize and be thankful that this huge pile of junk had actually enhanced their year.
Marxhausen encouraged his students to express their gratitude for such junk by creating artistic expressions out of combinations of the discarded objects—to give them a second life grounded more in aesthetics than utility. The recycled objects would thus become valuable for their own artistic sake. A container would abandon its former existence as a mere protective covering of something that was considered more important at the time, magazine page segments would communicate an entirely different message within a collage, and an inoperative vacuum cleaner would move from the disgrace of being discarded to the transformational prestige of being the base of a funky floor lamp (that then regrettably illuminated the surrounding dust).
Recycling has now become a cultural commonplace. Composted food scraps jump-start next year’s garden. Communities recycle bottles, cans, paper, and cardboard. Someone happily purchases the clothing that others had discarded at a resale shop.
But then, isn’t it also a form of recycling when we turn trees into books and housing, and plants into food and flower arrangements—a technological shift away from their natural state, as it were? It’s this constant shifting of functional states within the biosphere that makes life so interesting and celebratory. Sunflowers in a garden became sunflowers in a vase became Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of sunflowers in a vase became print reproductions that have already added 100 years to the otherwise short lifespan of that mundane vase of sunflowers.
So hooray for a world that gives us multiple opportunities to use, share, and enjoy anything and everything!

(reproduced from Gifts and Gratitude By Robert Sylwester, Ed.D.) visit www.brainconnection.com

Of Trails and Trials

A day filled with light warmth. The warmth of Christmas spirit seemed to engulf the air. I was driving down with my family on the Highway towards Chennai, when I hit a section of road that held out the promise of accommodating good speed with fewer obstacles. It was not just this but my anguish in doing nearly 800kms on lazy roads that seemed to yawn so often but it was a desire to reach my comfort called home that made me increase the pressure on the accelerator. The speed made me a bit uncomfortable but what caught my goat was a lady in a similar car casually drives past me with absolutely no sense of effort.

I tried to shrug it away, but at the cost of disappointing my children who goaded me from the read. “Come on daddy” seemed resound in my ears as – I know you will not take up the challenge d. And my challenger was getting ahead of me faster that mail without an attachment. There is no greater school that the school of Demo. I had to do it, pick up the challenge, which I did.

She seemed to sense my thought and moved faster and I had to get my testosterone gushing without any show of emotion. I felt my eyes focusing, and my hands and feet getting stressed and my heart towards high beat zone.

She was a clear leader, she made my way easier. I seemed to like it for the level of comfort it gave me, but being numero ono, irrespective of the responsibility was expected of a Christian. Some of faith stepped in. Be fruitful, multiply and have dominion, and that word Dominion took up a thicker case and impacted my mind, resulting in a my feet getting aggressive on the accelerator. But she went faster.

Challenge for the leader came in the form of two motorists who seemed to block the passage after a heavy meal. And providence smiled on me. I sneaked ahead exploiting the situation to the best.

Then started the trial of leadership. She was in pursuit and I took on my shoulder the job of cutting the path, judging gaps and unexpected eventualities. She was happy behind visible on my rear view mirror goading me to move faster. The pressure was on me to allow her to get ahead.

The speed was so high there was hum in the air. My faith was hitting max points. In the process I went past many, started reveling on the speed trip. Reached home early.

And what was the topic of the conversation in the journey? It was about Jews who most of the time are involved in scientific breakthroughs and then the other mortals merely improvise.

There was a clear lesson for leadership. The Trials of the leader depend on who is on your trail.