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Ignorance is not saying, I don’t know. Ignorance is saying, I don’t care.
Unknown, from 365 Days of Wonder
Last week the counselor at our school hosted a teacher group after school. I attended along with my next door neighbor, our speech therapist. We share a space. We usually visit daily, so over the last few years, we’ve gotten to be close friends. In this teacher support group meeting, we were the only ones there along with the counselor.
After some chatting, the counselor showed us a visual of a rose and asked us to share our blossoms, our buds, and our thorns. It was the first time I had experienced the tool, and it really worked. In the safety of her calming space, we talked about good things, hopeful things, and our challenges. Did I mention she had aroma steam and hot herbal tea?
I felt so moved by the experience I wanted to share my appreciation. I worked all week on a collage of roses and wrote an acrostic poem to give her; the least I could do for a totally free group therapy session.
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So nice to have that opportunity to share in a safe space. Love the roses and poem. It is sad that others could not make it or choose not to. Those sessions can make a difference in how a staff works together.
It is sad that not more people participated but the intimacy of the small group was special.
That sounds like a lovely and cathartic experience, Margaret! How thoughtful your collage and card are!
Lovely, Margaret! Your collage roses are beautiful. May you have many more blossoms than thorns.
What a beautiful gift from her to you and your office space partner, and from you to her in gratitude. I love your acrostic. I love the “Say, ‘I want to know'” line and the quote from your calendar at the top of your post.
What a spirit-generous gift to show your appreciation! I love that take on ignorance- saying ‘I dont care.’ And you make me want to collage… perhaps I’ll illustrate my next slice 🙂
I also want to say, we should all be quick to share our writing as a gift, as you were here. What a lovely gift.
This is quite beautiful. I love your collage and acrostic. The tool sounds quite enticing to try….
I just heard the rose and thorn thing this year for the first time. It’s a very nice image, and I imagine it would generate some good conversations with students, too. I love your generous creative response to the counselor. This is so you!
I love the quote, your roses, and acrostic. What a wonderful thank you to the counselor.
I remember a slice using the bud/rose/thorn structure. I wish I could remember who it was. What a wonderfully thoughtful experience to have at school. Just think about how many teachers could use this!
So uplifting, Magaret – in every way. The artwork and acrostic are such a lovely gift of honor. I celebrate the mutuality of the friendship and the “totally free therapy session” – I find this sentence vital: “In the safety of her calming space”…that is what I strive to offer my colleague as well.
Thank you for sharing Margaret– and for the reminder about the progressive poem! The rose exercise sounds beautiful– I’m glad you found support in your community.
Margaret, I think the small group discussion would be a calm, self-care exercise. Your gratitude must have been a real treat for the counselor who provided a beautiful time to reflect and share personal blossoms, buds, and thorns. I would have loved to be part of this group. Your acrostic is filled with practical wisdom such as. refrain from retribution.
Wow! I’m loving your collage to illustrate your poem. The fun thing about you, my friend, is how much you love to learn and also share what you learn for the benefit of others. This post is beautiful. I’m off to a conference this morning…I have a hunch that there won’t be as many there as the organizers would like to see. But, I will remember that even two or three can think great thoughts and do great things.
I love your post! I will try to remember about sharing blossoms, buds, and thorns. Your collage and poem are heartwarming. (I am a little confused about “ignorance,” because I thought it was supposed to be just a word for not knowing something. If ignorance means something else, what is the neutral word we are using for just not knowing something?)
Thanks for sharing this exercise and your acrostic, Margaret. I’ve never tried the ‘blossoms, buds, and thorns’ exercise, but I think I will give a go. 🙂
Ooh, I love the analogy of blossoms, buds, and thorns. What a spacious framework. Thanks for sharing, and what a gorgeous collage and acrostic gift! (And hugs on the ongoing thorns of life.)
Glad you found a safe and supportive place to share thoughts in. Beautiful collage and caring poem and gift.
Margaret: This image is LOVELY! And your poem shows how deeply you took in the message. The true gift to others is our time and our listening ears. Thanks for these blessings.
“Uncurious is not an option.”
Wow! Loved it.
Love the idea of sharing blossoms, buds, and thorns. This sounds like such a lovely, healing time to grow. Those surprisingly small groups can be surprisingly wonderful. xo