As a current student I have a Physical Education requirement to fulfill for graduation. Today’s gift is that my options include Tai Chi, Yoga, Pilates, and Walking Fido. I decided on Tai Chi this semester, to flesh out my daily meditation practice and bring some peace to my busy day. The class opens with a ten minute relaxation meditation. I chose well. I have gotten to the point where I crave meditation. Last week, a student asked if we could speed up the routine which is meant to be done deliberately, slowly and mindfully. I had to chuckle to myself, because I remember being right where this student was in my early practice, and many times today. It took me months to detox from a busy three job life and get to the point where I could sit with myself in silence. For me, being present was boring (it still can be.) Being present with myself in silence is being in communion with God. Being present with God brings peace. And sometimes peace is just not all that comfortable. In this technological age we are bombarded with advertising, video games, and cell phones. My teenage son reads a book while watching TV and surfing the internet. So I found humor in this young woman’s request, and then remembered how I close my heart every time a student walks into the room late and disrupts “my” meditation time. Hopefully someday I will be able to laugh with a student who requests the doors be padlocked shut once class begins.
● About Me
I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends.
Laura Smith Writer 
Leave a comment