Weekly Wide-Awake: Presence

[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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Weekly Wide-Awake: Presence

Your presence is a miracle.
Thich Nhat Hanh

My Word of the Year for 2024 is presence. I have chosen a Word of the Year for many years. I want to intentionally walk into the new year, thinking about and acting on my Word of the Year. More specifically, it is the clarification, writing down, and bringing into my consciousness a concept I need to chew and digest, imagine and explore, create and build. It is an effort to expand and embrace something more about tomorrow than yesterday, which is good. Over the years, I have understood the value of claiming a Word of the Year. It acts as a North Star. It reinforces that I am not yet. It is a center that can hold. It is a celebration in praise of heart’s desire.

This year, I want to be more in and of my life. Let me explain. One of the fundamental concepts of wide-awakeness is our capacity to be both in and of experience. It is a flow. It is a deep focus. It is a clear mind. It is the chess player’s ability to see moves, the mountain climber’s capacity to anticipate where to to stretch and grip, the poet’s capacity to sculpt words, and the chef’s understanding of ingredients, presentation, and taste. Wide-awakeness does not have to be exceptional. At its most fundamental, it is about seeing the world as it is, connecting, and imagining the shape of change. That is the challenge of the every day — being present to change. That is what I want to focus on going into this year.

Habit Tracking

I am seeking to build positive habits in three areas of my life — health, work, and spirit. Of course they are all interrelated, but I have separated them to keep track. This week was the final week of my accountability experiment in preparation for the new year. Each week has provided clarity and focus on what habits I will build in the new year. My husband and I are establishing a habit contract. Our contract begins on January 1, 2024.

Paying Attention

In alignment with my 2024 Word of the Year — presence, I am establishing a habit of pointing out a few things to which I have paid attention over time. I could also call this a gratitude list. I could also call this a list of common everyday miracles. I could call this a list of things that make me think. Things will include books, podcasts, music, art, poetry, and other stuff that catches my eye.