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End of Day Irony
Dec. 1st, 2011 09:05 pmFrom The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have.
-Center yourself, and as you exhale, open your heart to the place in you that risks.
-Breathe deeply, and as you inhale, open your mind's eye to the place in you that sees truth.
-Breathe steadily until your heart and mind's eye start to merge.
-Breathe evenly, until the place in you that risks touched the place in you that sees truth.
Wednesday 23rd
I'm not normally one for being paranoid where my personal safety is concerned, so it was with a whole bunch of irony that a thought occurred to me today. I was sitting in my classroom after the kids had gone, just me, marking the books, when there's a knock at the door, and in comes a security guard, and three cleaning workers, all male. They were all very polite as they were sweeping my carpet and cleaning the tables... and all being shadowed by the security guard.
So I started wondering – why the security guard? What is there in the classroom that they could possibly steal...? The computers maybe, though they wouldn't get very far with them, I'm sure. Not really much else in there they could take, unless you count educational resources, books and so forth. So then the wondering turned to the fact that many of the staff members are female, and so perhaps the security guards are there to ensure our safety from improper advances. This was where the thought came in. I wondered to myself – and I know security guards are supposed to be more trusted and all – but... what's the difference between having three strange men in your classroom, alone with you – and four?
Generally I'm not worried – I don't take risks and I try to be culturally sensitive where the whole rights and responsibilities thing is concerned. Don't sit in the front of a cab... don't be 'nice' to the workers – I mean, polite, yes, but not to give them any reason to misinterpret anything... dress conservatively... I draw the line at keeping my eyes downcast – as the Head of Primary suggested – but I don't go flaunting my western-ness about. It all sounds rather extreme, perhaps alarming, but not really. It's just common sense.
Anyway, after sweeping the carpet (with brooms and dustpans, I might add, not vacuum cleaners), the domestic staff left, as did the security guard, and I was left to finish up my marking by myself.
Empower me
to exercise the authority of honesty,
and be a participant
in the difficult ordinariness of now.
--Ted Loder
-Center yourself, and as you exhale, open your heart to the place in you that risks.
-Breathe deeply, and as you inhale, open your mind's eye to the place in you that sees truth.
-Breathe steadily until your heart and mind's eye start to merge.
-Breathe evenly, until the place in you that risks touched the place in you that sees truth.
Wednesday 23rd
I'm not normally one for being paranoid where my personal safety is concerned, so it was with a whole bunch of irony that a thought occurred to me today. I was sitting in my classroom after the kids had gone, just me, marking the books, when there's a knock at the door, and in comes a security guard, and three cleaning workers, all male. They were all very polite as they were sweeping my carpet and cleaning the tables... and all being shadowed by the security guard.
So I started wondering – why the security guard? What is there in the classroom that they could possibly steal...? The computers maybe, though they wouldn't get very far with them, I'm sure. Not really much else in there they could take, unless you count educational resources, books and so forth. So then the wondering turned to the fact that many of the staff members are female, and so perhaps the security guards are there to ensure our safety from improper advances. This was where the thought came in. I wondered to myself – and I know security guards are supposed to be more trusted and all – but... what's the difference between having three strange men in your classroom, alone with you – and four?
Generally I'm not worried – I don't take risks and I try to be culturally sensitive where the whole rights and responsibilities thing is concerned. Don't sit in the front of a cab... don't be 'nice' to the workers – I mean, polite, yes, but not to give them any reason to misinterpret anything... dress conservatively... I draw the line at keeping my eyes downcast – as the Head of Primary suggested – but I don't go flaunting my western-ness about. It all sounds rather extreme, perhaps alarming, but not really. It's just common sense.
Anyway, after sweeping the carpet (with brooms and dustpans, I might add, not vacuum cleaners), the domestic staff left, as did the security guard, and I was left to finish up my marking by myself.
