Through What Lens Do We Gaze?

Yesterday, Garr Reynolds used his Presentation Zen blog to write of sakura - cherry blossoms. Through the cycles of nature and through the beauty of the sakura, we are reminded of the circle of life - as some things wither and die, other things spring to renewed being. Likewise, my recent family trip to Disney reminded me of this circle. Not only did we hear the Elton John song during The Festival of the Lion King, but I ventured on Space Mountain with my son, just as my father had with me 34 years ago.

In Garr's post about sakura, he quoted Dr. Seuss: "Don't cry that it is over. Smile that it happened."

With those prophetic words, Seuss and Reynolds implore us to consciously and carefully choose which lens we use as we decide to gaze upon the world. Are we seeing endings in focus? Or shall we concentrate on the new beginnings? Rarely are there just two choices; more often we have multiple lenses through which we can gaze, each provides us with a version of the truth and an actuality of things...including ourselves.

My five week sabbatical has come to an end. Nay, the next leg of my educational journey has just begun. My lenses are enhanced and polished. That which I saw dimly in a mirror, I now see more clearly. I have enjoyed weeks of Sabbath to renew my vision and now have fresh eyes. The sakura are popping with explosive inside-outness.

About the author: Bo Adams (@boadams1) is a learner, a dad, a husband, a son, a leader, and a follower. He has always loved school, so he chooses to spend his every-days as an educator hoping to give back even a little of what he has gained from family, friends, colleagues, and students.