The Surface and the Deep

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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The Surface and the Deep

When under, remember the surface. When on the surface, remember the deep.

Thoughts on the surface and the deep.

Living at the surface.

Life seems designed to live at the surface. We move at a fast pace. We carry on inch deep conversation. We take shallow breaths that don’t really fill our lungs. We look around quickly enough to see if we can safely make our turn at intersections. That is surface living. Staying squrely in the chop and wake. Rigorously paddling to stay afloat. Despite the fight and tension – the rhythm of inevitability and habit- living at the surface allows us to see sunshine and move quickly to solid ground. There is beauty at the surface.

Living in the deep.

Living in the deep pushes the boundaries of our normal lives. Life in the deep is connection and breath and knowing and trust. It is where the water is glass through which we can see if we pay attention. It is where we can loose site of the ocean floor and still find solace and calm. It is where the weight of life spreads across our mind and bodies. It is where we float and bob. Living in the deep can feel disconnected and isolated and lonely if we get stuck in the deep. We don’t have to get stuck in the deep. That is the challenge of living in the deep.

The Ocean Tide

The ocean tide is the dance of the surface and the deep. Life is the ocean tide. We are, each one of us, a reflection of the seasons and the moon. We are, each one of us, powerful and forceful. We are, each one of us, wake and calm. We are, each one of us, cool and clear. We are, each one of us, surface and deep. We move between the surface and the deep. We live and change.

https://kitt.global/july-9-the-surface-and-the-deep-mark-nepo-the-book-of-awakening/