Yes, I am changing it up a bit … It’s Tuesday and I am writing an e-mail and a blog entry as well. Changing things up … you know … changing with the times and changing with my personal growth and desire to “give back”. Have you ever thought about changing stuff you do … because you think you are always right … or because you are so used to your “routine”? Sometimes, I have noticed that life forces me to change … even though I have settled into a routine … Then … BAM!!! Some challenging stuff goes down … making me change!! Yet, I hold on to my peaceful approach to life … wishing everyone “namaste” and peace! Now … don’t get me wrong now … I still have thoughts of causing someone a “redirection of their thought process” when it comes to me and perhaps … how they “talk” to me or even “treat” me! I often have to let that “mental video” play out in my mind rather than acting upon impulse!
Once again, as we start the final wind-down of this year … 2015 … and the start of a new year … 2016, I want each of you to know that if you would like to be REMOVED from this e-mail list for the New Year, let me know … please, let me know … okay?!? Now, I have met most of you personally along this journey. Some of you I have fallen in love with … though we never met (Dr. Karen Hurley, Columbia Teacher’s College, Adjunct Professor) … How could that happen? Well, you all know how spiritual I am … how much I do NOT like violence … because I’ve been there and done that …. So, I met Dr. Hurley via the social network. She is a friend of some of my former students from White Plains High School where I taught social studies for 10 years and coached boys basketball with the varsity coach. Dr. Hurley aka “Karen” sent me an e-mail where she discussed the concept of “Black Lives Matter” as an “additional” session with her graduate students! She said in the e-mail that “my” words in these messages hadn’t gone unheard! She is a wonderful person whom I hope to meet in person one day. She is spiritually “my sister”!
So these “Holy Days” hold Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa in the coming weeks! Wouldn’t this be a fantastic time to “embrace diversity”?!? Me thinks so! In this time, our nation is experiencing so much separation and segmenting of our population based on religion or national origin, not to mention income. Aren’t we smart enough to embrace these differences and take the opportunity to learn MORE about each other?!? You see, there is a lot more to intelligence than running a computer and making blue prints for skyscrapers. The true intelligence comes when WE learn how to get along with each other!! After all, we are the foundation of Creation … not skyscrapers!!! I will continue to encourage the diverse elements of humans in our world to continue to learn how to get along with each other … HAPPY HOLY DAYS!
Peace be with you!
John I. Cook, Director
Educational Excellence 