Revival

There is this lovely painting entitled "Drinking Coffee and Reading in the Garden" by Edward Johnson, and to me, it represents the ultimate luxury in life: leisure time to do just this! Not necessarily in a Philippine garden, with all the ants that might take sips from your coffee. But somewhere nice and peaceful... perhaps a cafe, or a park.

It's the middle of summer, and I'm so happy to have had some chances to read, stroll, have dinner with friends, watch concerts... and everything done leisurely! The older we get, the more frantic the pace of life becomes. And so these oases of calm and quiet are precious moments of renewal. And since this is my first blog entry of the year, it's also my way of reviving my dormant blog.

The revival of spirit, of creative impulses is the first task of any teacher during the summer. We love our jobs but the stress can eat away at one's passion, and so we use the summer to soak in all the art and culture that we can get, so we can pass it on to our students during the school year.

I am struck by how stilted, how forced my "voice" is now. Evidence of a rusty hand at recording one's thoughts. All the more reason for me to continue blogging!

Now tilt your head sideways, so you can read my Summer To-Do List.

Now tilt it back to normal. Isn't it refreshing? A simple change of perspective can make everything so different! And that's what this summer is all about.

I've ticked off quite a few of the items, and am looking forward to doing No. 2 and No. 3 soon! Especially since it's National Heritage Month and the National Museum is open, free of charge, all month! :) Oh Spolarium, it's been a decade since I've last seen you!

Revival of spirit, renewal of passion. That's what summer is all about. Not the beach parties, nor the drinking sessions by the seashore. But a simple breath of fresh air to breathe new life into the beautiful one we already have. (Going out of town would be nice but rather expensive and not very teacher-friendly, budget-wise.)

Have a great summer!