#Earthschooling365: Day Fifty-Seven
Inner Work Meditation (Heart): Every day a woodpecker wakes me up by pecking at a tree outside my window. He loves this tree because a branch of the trunk ripped off during a wind storm last year and exposed the inner bark. Ever since he has found this favorite restaurant he stops by at least three times a day and I can hear him pecking away. Do you ever find yourself doing that? Returning to the same methods and location day after day because they are familiar and easy to access? This works for the woodpecker but for humans it is not always the best path to success. Today, meditate on one thing you can try differently today. Will you sit in a different area of the room? Talk to a different person? Change your morning routine? It doesn’t need to be a big change. Even small changes can affect the muscle-memory and mind-memory of our bodies and trigger larger changes in our lives. Taking this a step farther you could also encourage someone you know (student, friend, or family member) to try something a different way today. It might be just what they need to solve a problem or get out of a rut they are in.
Nature Walk Idea (Head): Did you know that a woodpecker slams it’s head against a tree with 1,000 times the force of gravity? The maximum a human can survive is 45 times the force or gravity. In even the most extreme conditions (race care driving) the largest force a human has survived is 100 times the force or gravity. Today your nature walk assignment is to observe something that an animal is doing that you don’t think a human can do or that you think the animal can do better. This assignment is about observation and deduction. However. if you want to expand on this assignment you can come back to your home or classroom and research your theories. Were you right? What “superpowers” does the animal you chose have?
Photography Notes (Hands): Your assignment today is to take a progressive series of photos. I’ve provided an example with the photos in today’s post. Take at least three photos of an animal, person, insect or bird doing something and then choose your favorites to make into a collage. You can use a collage-creating program on your smart phone or tablet or you can print them out and arrange them in a row. I’ve provided an example of a collage series at the top of this blog. This is a good technique to know for many reasons. In the case of this photo I wanted to tell a story that could not be told in one photo. I also didn’t feel any of the photos were very good on their own since the background was so pale. Creating a collage is a great “quick fix” for this situation.
Verse: Who am I? Acrostic Riddle Poem
Copyright Kristie Burns
Willful as a flashing lightening bolt
Old trees his favorite target to jolt
Often comes and goes with a flash
Delicious bugs he loves to smash
Peeking from a hollow stump
Every day his head does bump
Campers wake to his determined drill
Kinetic force his biggest thrill
Endures frequent hits to his brain
Rarely ever complains of pain
Who is he?
*These poems have been created for many purposes – from early childhood circle time verses to inspirational or expressive. They vary from day to day so you may find the way you use them or enjoy them also varies. If you would like to set these poems to music consider our tutorial: Creating Your Ow Waldorf Verses or Finding Your Inner Voice.
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What is #Earthschooling365?
This series takes you through an entire year of our nature walks and is part of our non-profit project #Earthschooling365 at www.Earthschooling.org. The photos and posts in this series are all copyrighted. Please do not share or re-print them. Instead, share the link to this blog with your friends.
Along the way I will be sharing our favorite photo of the day, an inner work meditation for the day, photography assignment/tip for the day, nature walk theme for the day and a short verse for circle time (children) or meditation (teens/adults). We invite you to “walk along with us” this year, take some time to use the inner work meditation, be inspired by the nature walk theme of the day and perhaps even start a photo series of your own. To join the community on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram please tag your photos #Earthschooling365. To receive these inspirations in your e-mail inbox daily please subscribe to our blog alerts HERE. Don’t worry about missing days – you can join us as many days as you want this year!
Every day we will post one day. We will leave up 2 weeks of nature walks at a time. At the end of two weeks each nature walk will be transferred to the Lifetime Member’s Only Blog and will be accessible only to Lifetime Earthschooling Members. If you want to own the entire series without enrolling a an Earthschooling Lifetime Package Member you can purchase the entire series for only $35.00 (for the entire year!)
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