There are three connections I want to make in this post. First, the movie Avatar (2009). Second, the idea of Pandora’s box. Third, the concept of being present and aware in each moment of your life. Each of these connections confirmed for me the need to be present, curious, and aware in every moment of my life.
A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I finally watched the movie Avatar. The movie came out during the time I was teaching Advanced Placement United States History, I had a one-year-old son, and I was in a Master’s program for Administration and Supervision at The George Washington University. I did not have the time to watch movies. When I finally got to watch the movie, I loved the metaphors and multiple stories embedded with critical thinking and application to everyday life. The setting of the movie is a place called Pandora. Pandora had an atmosphere filled with a gas that was poisonous to humans, but there was an indigenous life form called Na’vi that did exist in the atmosphere. The movie was powerful and reflected on the concept of Pandora, which leads me to the next connection.
Next, I explored the idea of the ancient Greek story about Pandora’s box. In this story, Pandora was endowed with many gifts, talents, and attributes to walk in curiosity and enlightenment. Pandora was responsible for a box; however, Zeus told her that she could not under any circumstances open the box. Even though Pandora had everything she wanted in the universe, she could not have anything in the box. Oftentimes we want what we cannot have in our current life. Just pause for a second and say help me to be happy and content in this moment in my life. Selah! (means to pause and reflect.) Pandora was preoccupied with the mysterious nature of the box. If she could quickly take a glimpse she vowed never to look again in the box. Sometimes we try to move the goal post to achieve what we believe we want or need. Pandora opened the box and the evil spirits, demons, noises, and acts of suffering came out of the box. Once she opened the box she could not contain all the elements that emerged. She was warned not to open the box because mortal humans should not experience what was in the box. This ancient Greek story reminded me of the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. In the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve had the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and once they ate from the tree their eyes were enlightened. Stay with me because there are some overarching connections.
Finally, I had the opportunity to attend a virtual event for two weeks, titled The Best Year of Your Life summit. There were various speakers who provided context, application, and reflection. One exercise I would like to share is from Ruth King’s presentation, where she discussed the essence of meditation and mindfulness. In this presentation she shared a mindfulness strategy to build consistency and just being present and aware. Please participate along with me by taking 5 minutes a day for 5 days a week for 5 weeks to be present in the moment, experiencing the actual moment, taking the time to be aware and interrogate the moment. Some may just be present for the five minutes and then take notes; others may take notes in silence about what comes to mind. Some may embrace the moment and not take any notes. Do whatever allows you to be present in the moment. Please share in the comments any experiences; I would love to hear about them.
For this post, I would like for us to consider some pivotal reflection points from these three connections:
Be open to curiosity and how it invokes wonderment, awe, exploration, conflict, reflection, and communication;
Consider the duality in every exchange and/or interaction;
Individualism and collectivism are necessary to advance institutions and communities – institutions and communities are systems;
Acknowledge what is going on (emotions, incidents, and situations);
Explore emotions, but consider varying levels of reactions;
Recognize consequences (Intent vs. Impact);
Understand the power of hope and harmony;
Thirst for knowledge – stay curious;
Awareness requires some type of action – sometimes multiple actions;
Intentional reflection;
Maximizing the concept of being present is essential;
Aspects will be revealed – do not rush the process;
Every individual has gifts and talents;
Understanding the relationship amongst the heart, mind, and soul;
The benefit of acknowledging multiple (diverse) perspectives – representation does matter as we craft and participate in various systems;
Exploring multiple systems is imperative in 2022.
My goal is to create blog entries for each reflective point, so stay tuned in 2022.
Call to Action: In 2022, we will have to be more action-oriented than we have been in the past, so we can walk in our greatness and excellence. Please consider which reflective points resonate with you at this moment. Please share them in the comment section below. Here are some other ways you can be more actionable if you have not done these things. If you have not subscribed to Edjacent’s mailing list, please do it today. The mailing list provides information and inspiration from Edjacent designers, including how to be a reflective practitioner. Second, please share in the comments below any thoughts, concerns, comments, questions, or ideas. Third, please consider joining the Edjacent community as we explore elements of this blog together in future meetings. Membership is $240.00 for the year ($20/month) and includes community, content, and coaching. Join today and enroll into our self-paced course, which is free for members. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, February 17th from 7 pm-8:30 pm for our next Edjacent member meeting.
