Listen to thisWhoever you are, you have an invisible knapsack attached to your back. It has been part of you since your birth. Everything goes into your knapsack: impressions, sounds, words, songs, sensory images, people, places, things, dreams, fears, good times, bad times. You carry it with you everywhere you go and add to it all of your life. Your knapsack can never be detached from you. It provides you with a continuing source of material to tap when you want it, when you need it. Such writers as Hermann Hesse, Ray Bradbury, and Madeleine L'Engle strengthen the knapsack image.
Hesse’s character Steppenwolf muses over his life: These pictures – there were hundreds of them, with names and without – all came back. They were my life’s possession and all its worth. Indestructible and abiding as the stars, these experiences, though forgotten, could never be erased. Their series was the story of my life, their starry light the undying value of my being.
Ray Bradbury sees all human beings as: stuffing ourselves with sounds, sights, smells, tastes and textures of people, animals, landscapes, events, large and small. We stuff ourselves with those impressions and experiences and our reaction to them. Into our subconscious goes not only factual data but reactive data, our movement toward or away from the sensed events ... a fantastic storehouse, our complete being ... All that is original lies waiting for us to summon it forth ...
Madeleine L'Engle writes about herself (and all of us): I am part of every place I have been: the path to the brook, New York streets, and my “short cut" through the Metropolitan Museum. All the places I have ever walked, talked, slept, have changed and formed me. I am part of all the people I have known – I am still every age that I have been. Because I was once a child, I am always a child. Because I was once a searching adolescent; given to moods and ecstasies, these are still part of me, and always will be ...
If you look carefully, you will see the knapsacks on the backs of even the youngest children in your group. The material in your knapsack and in those of your students is priceless. It is a resource that never runs out! Dip into your knapsack. Rummage through the layers of words and images that symbolize all your experiences and impressions. Reach for those items that have become important in your life.
A common expression today is get yourself together. We all must get in touch with our deepest feelings and concerns, our strengths and weaknesses, and cut through the layers of inhibition, programmed responses, and stereotyped answers.
Ask yourself questions, such as – What makes me laugh? What moves me? What hits me? What am I enthusiastic about? Curious about? Interested in? What kind of experiences evoke sensitive responses? When do I accomplish the most with the least feeling of effort?
In what direction does my energy flow most
easily?
Where, in what I’m doing, do I experience myself as most alive?
When does my life sing for me?
What colour does air smell like?
Do I know that when I breathe I feed the trees?
In what areas do I feel most competent?
In what areas do I get my best ideas?
When do I get my best ideas?
What things do I want to do, but never get around to doing?
What is the most boring part of what I’m doing?
... the most exciting?
Am I willing to experiment with new ideas at the risk of their failing?
Does a door keep me in somewhere or out of somewhere?
What do I value?
What do I want to do?
What am I doing?
Who am I?
"How are you this morning?” The eternal question. These questions are pertinent to all members of the human family. The process of self-discovery is fascinating and often yields important revelations.
After provocative group discussions about ourselves and our lives, children respond enthusiastically to the assignment “What hits you?" “What do you care about?" “Who are you?"
What Hits Me
Beautiful music hits me and excites me.
The thought of suffering hits me and makes me fearful and afraid of it.
A thought expressed in eloquent words thrills me.
Injustice hits me and angers me.
Man's cruelty to his fellow man hits me and infuriates me.
Poverty and ignorance hits me and saddens me.
An honour given to someone I love hits me and makes me joyous.
People indifferent to their surroundings and to events in their lives
hit me and frustrate me.
The poisoning of the minds of the younger generation
by the older one with the passing on of old hatreds and prejudices hits
me and saddens me.
My loneliness in a world of many millions of people hits me and gives me
a sense of individuality and oneness.
The knowledge I possess in relation to all the knowledge to be had in
the world today affects me, for no matter how knowledgeable, I become I
will never obtain even one tenth of it.
- Esther K. Age 12
Me
I like the smell of the air
I love my mom and dad.
I’m afraid of while loins. (wild lions)
The best thing in the world is baceball.
I want a bike.
The best time of day is noon.
The most beautiful sight is Pali Lookout
- Scott Age 8
Feelings
I like the world.
I love my mother and father.
I’m afraid of robbers.
The best thing in the world is friendship.
I want more friends.
I don’t like selfish people.
The best fun is fairs.
It is very hard to tell lies.
- Andy Age 9
When I work with children, I always wear T-shirts with messages. One of my favourite shirts reads:
I CARE ABOUT THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
This serves as a launching pad for a collective gathering of words answering the question “What do YOU care about?" In no time, the chalkboard is running over with “care" words. Some samples from a third-grade gathering:
We Care About ...
families – school – our teacher – our president – pets – friends – our
bodies – peace – houses – food – money – god – spring – birthdays – learning – the world.
What care words will you write on your T-shirt?
Stop, Look, Listen
You, with your bulging knapsack, your unique perceptions and
personalities, are a marvellous piece of work. No machine or computer
can equal your capabilities or powers. You are probably not even aware
of all of your powers. Do you think you come close to functioning at the
peak of your abilities?
Think back to a vacation you enjoyed. Were your senses sharp? Did you turn your bright lights on everything? Did you notice the shapes of houses, the types of trees and flowers, stone designs on streets, the contour of hills, sky hues, the smells of food and flowers, the sounds of language and music, old buildings and sculptures? Were you interested, curious, attentive? Did you collect vivid experiences for your knapsack? Did you write lively postcards, jot notes in a journal, make sketches, take photos? Now, contrast that experience with your day-to-day existence. How observant are you? How much of the day do you catch? What details do you gather? How curious are you about your surroundings? Most of us will admit that our usual everyday visibility is close to zero. We keep our headlights at dim.
George Bernard Shaw wrote: When I went to those great cities I saw wonders I had never seen in Ireland. But when I came back to Ireland, I found all the wonders there waiting for me. You see, they had been there all the time: but my eyes had never been opened to them. I did not know what my own house was like, because I had never been outside it ...
Stop reading this page.
Look around you. What do you see? Where are you? What is the season? What is the weather outside of your window? What is your inner season and weather? Listen to the sounds around you ...
