LOVE!

I think life and time are too often overgrown by expectation of the ordinary.  Tom playing his slide guitar while creating "Ma (for Amma)" is one of the most delightful moments I have found myself in.  He gathers time into one syllable, "Ma," as the vibration of his voice reveals where the electric guitar got its chops.  The soul searching electric strings of our Western cultural vibe meet the deepest devotion of an ageless and timeless human heart chanting to the Divine.

I'm just wondering...is this a good thing?  I suppose it is a good thing.  I'm typing on one.  I suppose it is a good thing that all of the children in the developing world can now join all of the children in the developed world wanting all of the things that the internet has to offer and advertise. 

I'm sure that as an educator, I'm not really concerned that my job can be replaced by a computer, although some of my students say they enjoy online classes much better than a real classroom.  All of the messy stuff like personalities are taken out of the equation.  And in some way perhaps it is time for me to wonder what really is the role of  the educator in the culture I live in.  I can't really pretend to comment on the actual needs of the developing countries.  My opinions would be based on stereotype and media hype, but I think I can comment quite honestly on my own. 

I think things have changed a lot since my grandmother taught in a one room schoolhouse in the Canadian Prairies.  I think back then the teacher was the main source of information about the world...but not anymore.  Now all of the "good and evil" in the world is contained in this "apple" under my fingertips, so what use is the forum of an educational institution past the first few years after the fundamentals of education are in place. I think there is room for a lot of other subjects besides more technology. 

I think that what we will need as the years continue to unfold are mentors who can teach children how to live and not just learn.  With all of the information abounding regarding the significance of food and health is anyone teaching children how to cook?  Ayurvedic cooking is a profound resource for health and well being but I struggle to find the time to implement the nuances of this art into my daily life.  How will it be any easier for the next generation to find time to learn how to live, if they've only been taught how to learn.  Why is there a group of women at my university who get together once a week to knit?  We do get paid enough to buy scarves and sweaters... But I think it is because there is a prayer that happens as our fingers move in and out of the laughter and conversation we share.  Is anyone teaching our children how to knit? 

I know there are other disciplines I am not thinking of when I mention that music seems to be the only department that cannot be replaced by a computer, but then again I wonder.  I love to zoom around in Garage Band as much as I now love Photoshop and iMovie.  And this comment is coming from someone who when I went back to graduate school ten years ago, for an MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) I had to visit with a friend the week before I left so I  could learn how to set up a Word document and make a file on my desktop.  So I just wonder...

Technology is beautiful and amazing and mysterious, I just hope it does not replace everthing else that is beautiful, amazing and mysterious.

Five years after the concept was first proposed, the so-called $100 laptop is poised to go into mass production.

Tom wrote this a few weeks ago.  I really love it!  I love that when I really
spent time with the - meanings within the words within the meanings-
I pulled up into a place in my mind and had a really fun experience of
traveling into very new and exciting territory.

http://t4om.zaadz.com/blog/2007/7/the_thing_of_everything_isness_card

Joy!
Portico