I don’t take you for granted Don—compliments and affirmations from you feel SO authentic. It’s a true joy to know such a deep-reader and thinker (maybe better to say “feeler”) such as yourself cares enough to respond so kindly to so many writers.
Thank, Kert. Yeah, that's me, thinking and feeling all the time. Here's a quote from my third-grade teacher on my report card: "Don still cries at the drop of a hat, but his academic performance is excellent." haha
Okay, former career public school teacher and admin here. You bring up your third grade self. I knew kids like you—I LOVED kids like you. Kids like you are rare. And they always gave me hope—kids who intuitively feel the pain and suffering in the world always brought an aura of kindness. You can’t teach that and it’s not something that gets inherited. Kids like that were my evidence that Soul exists in the universe—and I reserved a special place in my heart for each and every one of them. I know your teachers loved you! Can you imagine where we’d be if more of our kids were nurtured to feel more?
Wow, Kert, though I never actually became a teacher (considered it, even got the initial certification), I always swore that if I did, my purpose would be to pay attention to those kids, the ones with hearts but not the assertiveness to state their needs and get them met. But YOU did. You did that. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you! Yes, “kids like that” were often misunderstood; the adults in their lives needed to understand who they were and then work hard to nurture their innate gifts of kindness and compassion while also providing them with skills and strategies to “protect” their empathy so that it remained healthy for them. Kids without that guidance had a harder time understanding how to metabolize their lovely emotions.
For an obscure person who really doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing here in this Substack space, or why he’s doing it after the death of the one person who was his inspiration (my Dad), those are among the kindest word one could receive Colleen. Thank you. Really…. Thank you.
A beautiful meditation, Kert.
I don’t take you for granted Don—compliments and affirmations from you feel SO authentic. It’s a true joy to know such a deep-reader and thinker (maybe better to say “feeler”) such as yourself cares enough to respond so kindly to so many writers.
Thank, Kert. Yeah, that's me, thinking and feeling all the time. Here's a quote from my third-grade teacher on my report card: "Don still cries at the drop of a hat, but his academic performance is excellent." haha
Keep up the good work, Kent!
Okay, former career public school teacher and admin here. You bring up your third grade self. I knew kids like you—I LOVED kids like you. Kids like you are rare. And they always gave me hope—kids who intuitively feel the pain and suffering in the world always brought an aura of kindness. You can’t teach that and it’s not something that gets inherited. Kids like that were my evidence that Soul exists in the universe—and I reserved a special place in my heart for each and every one of them. I know your teachers loved you! Can you imagine where we’d be if more of our kids were nurtured to feel more?
Wow, Kert, though I never actually became a teacher (considered it, even got the initial certification), I always swore that if I did, my purpose would be to pay attention to those kids, the ones with hearts but not the assertiveness to state their needs and get them met. But YOU did. You did that. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you! Yes, “kids like that” were often misunderstood; the adults in their lives needed to understand who they were and then work hard to nurture their innate gifts of kindness and compassion while also providing them with skills and strategies to “protect” their empathy so that it remained healthy for them. Kids without that guidance had a harder time understanding how to metabolize their lovely emotions.
You said it, Kert! So glad we had someone in the education system who understands that
Happy Friday
Great Poetry.
And yes Thank You for Don McLean's Vincent
I love it when kindred spirits check in with one-another. Thank you Mark! You must have grown up in the musical wheel-house era of my own!
Thank you. Kert. For putting to words all that we are feeling.
For an obscure person who really doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing here in this Substack space, or why he’s doing it after the death of the one person who was his inspiration (my Dad), those are among the kindest word one could receive Colleen. Thank you. Really…. Thank you.
You are most welcome