the story of we

my book pile was dangerously low...until i rediscovered our school library. my greed returned, as i piled more and more young adult titles into my hands to satisfy me until my items on hold have time to arrive from the public library domain. getting my middle school classes further into poetry and allegory this autumn, i thought more about story and how, while our own unique tales are important, they make the most beauty within the larger picture.

 helping my students move from "the story of me" to the "story of we" takes many forms, the least of which sometimes involves me drawing a circle on the board and saying "this is the universe" and, placing a mark in the middle, adding "this is not you or me." we get to put God in the center here, for which i am grateful, but i've been thinking about the larger context anyway: even the strangers' lives that intersect with ours. for example, when i ride my bike to work, depending on the time i start pedaling, i see a lady who bikes in the opposite direction. she has a crate bungee corded to the back of her bike and her cycle looks a bit small for her body frame, but she makes it work. then there's the older asian gentleman i pass. he walks down the same section of sidewalk in the morning light, hands clasped behind his back, strolling with intention and looking down as if in deep thought. i wonder about these people.

where are they going? what are they thinking about? we may never even speak, but somehow we are also part of the story of we. what context do you find your story in; what might your bigger picture be?

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