A Second Week of #Edjoy: Mindfulness

Last year, while reading an article in FastCompany, I came across these photographs by Andrew White:

I love this. Not only are they fun, but White's playful project points to something really serious: the need to be aware. According to White, "the whole series thrived on spontaneity." There was no forethought regarding specific scenes or objects that White intended to capture. Instead, "It was just a case of shooting whatever presented itself." Looking at the range of photographs, this becomes readily apparent.

So, what does this have to do with my two-week old #Edjoy experiment? Mindfulness.

This idea has been floating around in the back of my mind over the last 14 days; however, a brief exchange with Reagan Weeks (@Reagan31) in today's #sunchat clarified it. We were discussing the importance of gratitude, and I tweeted how easy it is to get caught up in what is not working. To get stuck in cycles of negativity. Resisting these ruts requires mindfulness: being aware of the moments that make teaching meaningful and exciting, especially those that are mundane and easily-overlooked.

As I look again at White's Legographer, I realize what an ingenious exercise in awareness he has established for himself. By changing perspective in this novel way, everyday locations become areas for potential discovery.

So it is with #Edjoy.

My colleagues certainly have posted about the dramatic, even epic moments from the last two weeks. However, most of the #Edjoy posts concern the easily overlooked instances. Seeing what people have shared makes me more mindful of my own day, confident that powerful testaments to the beauty of learning are all around me. I just need to open my eyes. And keep them open.

“You must habit yourself to the dazzle of the light and of every moment of your life”  -Walt Whitman