Recently I shared my poem ‘Be Aware’ with an educator. This morning I re-read this poem and after sitting with it for a bit I decided to share it with you, Gentle Reader. Although the poem is dedicated to ‘Educators’ you can replace the word ‘Educator’ with many other words: Parent, Leader, Coach, Spouse, etc.
As I was preparing to post this poem a number of others emerged into my consciousness. I stopped and read through them and two others ‘called’ to me. After sitting with them I decided to add them to this post – hence the title, ‘THREE POEMS.’ I also see how they complement one another; perhaps you also, Gentle Reader, will see how they complement one another – then again, perhaps not. Here are the ‘THREE POEMS.’
BE AWARE!
–A Guide for Educators–
Be aware of who you are,
others will be
and learn.
Be aware of the words you use,
others will hear
and learn.
Be aware of what you choose to do,
others will notice
and learn.
Be aware of how others mirror you
to you
and learn.
Be aware of the questions you muse,
they determine the path you choose.
Be aware of the path you choose,
others will notice
and may follow.
Be aware that your life
will influence beyond
what you can see.
Be aware of the light you shed
and the shadow you cast,
others will be.
Be aware of the voice you bring – or refuse to bring.
Be aware of the story you live – or refuse to live.
Be AWARE.
BE aware.
BE AWARE! ©Richard W Smith, Singapore, 4-15-09
CHALLENGED BY CONFUCIUS
For more than forty years now
Confucius has been my teacher,
my guide, and a role-model.
I have sought and continue to seek
how I might serve others so they
choose to nurture more than deplete.
Like Confucius, I invite those I serve
into conversations; I invite them to
consider questions; I walk with them
as one who travels the same path of
seeking, searching, and learning.
When I am healthy I am a living paradox;
I am, it seems, a living contradiction. At
my best I am able to accept others as
living paradoxes.
When I am full of dis-ease I engage
my favorite ways of depleting myself
especially my spirit. At my worst, I
deplete others with heartless judgments.
Confucius continues to challenge me:
Serve my father as I would expect my
son to serve me;
Serve my ruler as I would expect my
ministers to serve me;
Serve my elder brother as I would expect my
younger brother to serve me;
To be the first to treat my friends as I would expect them
to treat me.
These are my challenges;
Like Confucius,
These I have not been able to do.
Like Confucius,
These I continue to strive to live.
Like Confucius,
I seek to be more and more consistent.
Like Confucius,
I know that to seek perfection
is to seek failure. Richard W Smith, 30 May, 2011
WHEN I A VIRTUE
When I am virtue
My actions are effortless.
I do not dwell upon
The goodness of my conduct.
When I practice virtue
My actions are dutiful.
I dwell upon the value
They bring to me and you.
When I feign virtue
My actions are ego-centered.
I dwell upon my own goodness
And how you honor me.
When I feign virtue, then
Image triumphs over substance
Conduct displaces character
Externals transcend the internal
Shell trumps the core. Richard W Smith 28 March, 2010
Searcher-Seeker 