For me, at this point in my life, the expression "fire in the belly" captures the sense of passion that I feel for the different projects I'm involved in, teaching at the Education Faculty, working in the field of mindfulness in education, as well as several other things I've been working on recently. I believe in these projects with my mind but I also resonate with them in my heart and, especially, I feel like I get fired up with them, my gut says "Yes!", this is the way to go!
So I think that as teachers, it's important that we connect to these different levels. First there's a sense of vocation - why am I involved in education, what is it about my life that brings me to this path? And then, it's important to resonate from the heart with this vocation, to fall in love with the work - that will certainly help when the going gets tough!
And finally, the ability to feel the fire in the belly, the passion, means we're conscious of the engine room of our body, the vehicle that allows us to be in the world and intervene to make it a slightly better place, thanks to our passing through it. And being conscious of our passion, what it is that really moves us deep down, means that we can channel that energy in the best, wisest way we're able, each of us for our own good and for the greater good, too.
These are the reflections about where I'm at right now that I wanted to share with you - and what about you? What is it that moves you, what gets you fired up? Maybe you can discover and share some things in this blog about this path in teaching that you're embarking upon...
Anyway, here's a live version of the song by Van Morrison and you can find a PDF with the lyrics here. And just in case you're interested in knowing more about Van Morrison, in the next few days I'll be publishing another entry specifically about Van, his music and its influence in my life.
Hi Stuart.
ReplyDeleteI was searching, but I couldn´t find your post about Van Morrison. I had seen it a time ago, but I cannot find it now!
Anyway, I liked very much this post, I think that it defines the way in which you give your lessons and the way in which We should do it in the future, with passion. .
And about Van Morrison, I am with you, He is one of my favorites singers since I was a little girl. My parents had his CD'S and we used to sing it in the car. At this times, I used to thought that "The bright side of the road" were the best song to sing in the car and I always asked for it to my parents. "Another time please, one more!" I used to say.
I think that, for me, Van Morrison is the same as for you, a symbol of some periods of my life, but for me, his songs remind me a lot of things of my infancy.
Nowadays I also listen to his songs, but always with these memories.
Thanks for you comments, María - I enjoyed reading them and am glad that you will take away from my classes the idea of teaching with passion! I also really like the song you mention, it's very cheerful! Here's the link to the entry you mentioned - you probably saw a draft of it on the Blogger page: http://oursitcom2015.blogspot.com.es/2015/03/van-morrison.html?m=0
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