Our EPV approved Summer Course for primary teachers in Ireland is back!
Click on either image to find our more!
This Summer Course first ran in 2019 and was a great success according to those who participated. Because of Covid it could not run over the following years but it is now available as a face-to-face program again this year. There is a limit of 20 participants, so early registration is advised. Click on either image to find out more or register via the Kildare Education Centre website.
The venue, Ballyshannon National School, offers modern facilities in an ideal location, situated just a 6-minute drive from Exit 2 (Kilcullen) on the M9.
Bear In Mind by John Martin
A bear is chasing me through a meadow
and I’m running as fast as I can but
he’s gaining on me—it seems
he’s always gaining on me.
I’m running and running but also
thinking I should just
turn around and say,
“Stop it! Stop chasing me. We both
know you aren’t going to catch me.
All you can ever do is chase me. So,
think about it—why bother?”
The bear does stop,
and he sits on his haunches and thinks,
or seems to think. And then
the bear says to me,
“I have to chase you, you know
that. Or you should. And, sure,
we both know I’ll never catch you.
So, why not give us both a break and
just stop thinking about me?”
But, with that said, he gets back on four feet,
sticks his long pink tongue out, licks down
both sides of his snout. Then he sighs, looks
behind himself, then at me and says, “Okay,
ready when you are.”
from Hold This. © Concrete Wolf Press, 2017.
Reflection on the Poem:
I love the imaginative simplicity and creativity of this poem. It opens with a dream-like quality where the poet is being chased and the bear is constantly gaining on him but yet never enough to catch him! And in a moment of inspiration the poet realises he should just stop and tell the bear to go away. Otherwise this pointless chase will continue indefinitely and both of them will get ever more exhausted!
And the bear too realises this essential truth but reflects back to the poet that he, the poet, is the instigator. He is the one doing whose incessant thinking is causing the problem. So it is the poet who needs to give them both a break by ceasing to think about the bear! The clue is also in the title of the poem ‘Bear in Mind’. I love that double entendre because this truth the bear has just uttered is what the poet needs to bear in mind! And, cease to bear the bear in mind. Children say that meditation helps them let go of all the drama! And they realise they can choose to meditate at any time, especially when they feel overwhelmed by the drama of their daily lives.
And the third funny, yet sad, verse tells us a great deal about human nature. The bear sighs, looks behind himself, then at the poet and says, “Okay, ready when you are”. And that is so like the way we respond to many insights – we continue as before as if we had never glimpsed the truth! We return our attention to our distractions, away from that which we are seeking inside of ourselves.
May our meditation help to break our habitual reaction to the stresses of life and make us more responsive.. May it help us to keep our attention on what matters most so that it becomes not merely a reality but the reality that guides how we live our lives. May our meditation keep our hearts open always to God’s presence and guide us to love like Him.
Very many primary schools today have Autism Units and I am often asked about their particular needs in respect of meditation.WCCM has organised a Webinar looking at Meditation with Children and Young People on the Autistic Spectrum. It will take place online on 22 June 2023 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The webinar will be led by Dr Pierina Landolfi who will talk to us about autism and neuro divergency in her experience as a professional working with children in this field.
Laurence Freeman OSB, director of the world community, will reflect on how meditation can develop spiritual awareness. In addition, there will be a panel of professionals to answer questions and talk about their experience meditating with children on the autistic spectrum. The webinar will begin with a short video prepared by teachers from St Michael’s Holy Angels Special School in Chapelizon, Dublin
To find out more and book a place (STG£20) click here. It is hoped to have a recording available afterwards so if you are unable to attend because of the timing but would like to see the recording. contact me on mnkeating@gmail.com and I will let you know when it becomes available.
Classroom Posters
Whiteboard Meditation Timers
