Embracing Winter Sunsets

 “Anne came dancing home in the purple winter twilight across the snowy places.” - LM Montgomery

Moving from Long Island to New York has been a shift in setting and an interesting experience. In Long Island, I was awed by the ocean but here, in my Virginia community, the woods in front of my house look serene when nightfall comes. Sunsets are remarkable paintings of beautiful, muted scenes or fiery, colored markings in the sky. 

Other areas of the country share the glow of winter sunsets, too. 

Oregon coast in winter- Rita Wirtz

Pink clouds hover.

Provide a backdrop

For bare winter limbs.

Serenity surrounds life.

-Faige Miller, Los Angeles

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purple winter sunset serenity

blissful

tranquil

filled

with

blissful

beauty

awakening

senses

blissful

winter sunset-purple serenity

©CVarsalona, 2022, skinny poem

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I appreciate the pause in life each week where I can slice my thoughts with Two Writing Teachers.

November is For Thanks

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”- G.K.Chesterton  

There is a certain type of wonder during the month of November. It opens as the last hurrah of autumn. Daylight savings time slows down life's pace and as we move toward Thanksgiving, gratitude moments become more important. Autumn is an example of nature's gift as October grandeur sweeps its piles of leaves into November. I sigh with delight and give thanks as leaves cushion earth.

From one the west to east coast, autumn presents its colors in a wonder-filled array of happiness. When the weather turned a beautiful shade of sunshine sky, I decided to take an awe walk to clear my head of the noises of life and commune with nature. So off the family went to visit a nearby park that we had not walked through this autumn.

As we entered the park, I was immediately struck by the peacefulness of the November day. The duck community honked greetings, inviting us in. Light from the sun radiated across the pond illuminating the colors of the mallards. 

Looking into the park, trees tinged in autumn gold beckoned. 

The weight of the world lifted as

infrequent joggers and a sole skateboarder smiled in passing.

autumn touches earth

with its illuminating light

peacefulness settles

in mirrored reflection 

 November showcases fall

©CV, 2020

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At the end of the awe-walk, reeds were sassaying in the breeze. The scene reminded me of the constant election news shows with heated conversations. This image poem displays my first Naani.

Naani is one of India's most popular Telugo poems. Naani means an expression of one and all and consist of 4 lines, the total lines consists of 20 to 25 syllables.  The poem is not bouded to a particular subject, although generally it depeds on human relations and current statements.

"Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life." -Rumi

Indulging in an awe walk as a diversion from the weighty to dos of life was just the right medicine to fill my head with gratitude thoughts and make me smile.

I'm joining the Poetry Friday Roundup where Susan Bruck is hosting at Soul Blossom Living. Susan delights us with her silly poem series and accompanying illustrations that my little granddaughter would absolutely love.

In Gratitude

Silence after a successful Twitter chat settles a racing mind and an energized spirit. When the November 4th's #NYEDChat with my talented guest moderator and friend, Rita Wirtz, officially finished, I was immersed in the quietude of a silent room. I reflected on the art and craft of teaching and what was accomplished as connected educators voiced their responses to beautifully crafted questions. What did it mean to me to walk the walk with learners who daily experience and understand the productive struggle? How do I encourage all teachers to passionately continue to hone their craft when faced with learners who are troubled by the unproductive, disquieted moments of classroom work? Being a reflective educator is an essential component of teaching and learning. I am thankful for walking the walk as a teacher and being blessed to have the opportunity to work with so many dedicated and passionate educators.

With this in mind, I collaborated with Rita Wirtz on a post-NYEDChat project to put our thoughts on the art and craft of teaching to paper. We diligently worked for days to research quotes and texts on celebrating the art and craft of teaching and were surprised by the scarcity of articles found. Taking a deep dive into writing from two different sides of the United States, we collaborated via Google Docs, FaceTime, and texting. Collaboration became a true interactive exchange of ideas. You can access our published post, Celebrating Art and Craft of Teaching, Thoughts to Inspire You! at Rita Wirtz's Bam Radio! blog site.

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Because my mind often thinks in terms of poetic thoughts, you will find two modified forms of a golden shovel poem based simply on an inspirational quote and mantra on teaching, Below you will see the lines I chose to be inspired by, how I took each word and wove it as the ending line of a poem.

Inspirational Quote:

“Teaching is a work of heart, love, and passion!" (Rita Wirtz)

Educators celebrate artful teaching,
journeying along a path that is
filled with a myriad of practices, a
collection of collaborative work,
resources, and reflective tools of
quality. They fill their heart-
inspired teaching pathway with love,
joyfully deliberating, collaborating, and
following their innermost passion.
©CV, 2019

Inspirational Mantra:

"Time for Change"

Talking and walking the walk in real-time

breathes hope into a life plan for

renewal and a call to change.

©CV, 2019

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Energized teachers unleash their creativity when designing joyful havens of learning. Each day, they interact with learners as the guides on the journey toward lifelong learning. In gratitude for what teachers do, I ask those who have chosen to follow this esteemed profession to keep on celebrating the art and craft of teaching with heart, love, and passion!

March Musings #20: On Hope

Hope is ever-present
in nature and in life
even when tucked away.
Hope gives life to the forgotten,
opens doors, previously closed.
It becomes the defining moment, 

surfacing from the unnoticed and unseen.

Hope prevails in the midst of earthly challenges.

to become the miracle of spring and all it promises. 

©CV, 2018

When my Twitter friend, Rita Wirtz, came back to writing her Bam Radio blog post, I felt compelled to write her a poetic response to her statement, " Hope is the miracle, the defining moment", so I lifted her line and wrote. 

We are defined by who we are in the midst of challenge.

When perplexed I am reminded that

Spring promises await.

🥀

 

Day 20 of Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Story Challenge