Frank Thoms, Teacher in the Rye

We begin to wonder where we might be on his life path. We think about who we are, to take stock of ourselves.

Our digitally driven culture insists we be mercurial, constantly adjusting. But Nasrudin reminds us the most important work is on ourselves. Heeding his wisdom, we reassess who we are and where we need to be. And we need to assess whether what we do is effective in our volatile culture.

Everyone who grew up in the latter half of the 20^th century needs to recognize that the young are growing up inside a radically different culture. Nasrudin offers us to reflect on who we are and how we are responding to this new context. The students in our classrooms are not who we were in school.

But if we heed Nasrudin, we awake to now and respond with compassion and understanding.

Adjusting to change is the one constant in life. But now it’s faster, deeper, and alien to some of us. While I am addressing teachers in this Substack, the challenge of living well faces all of us. It takes reflection, compassion, and understanding of who we are, and being open to whatever comes our way.