I
t is always hard to know how to wrap up my thoughts on a trip like this. I find myself sitting and thinking about the different people we encountered. We spoke a different language, we’ve had vastly different life experiences, we have different belief systems – but there is a common bond that brings us together and helps us to realize that we have much in common.
During our next-to-last free talk, I shared a poem I had written. The poem did not so much reflect my own search for meaning as it articulated the search of a person who senses a greater meaning in life – but isn’t quite sure where to find it. I share it here because some asked me about it – not because I think it is a literary masterpiece (no literary critique, please!).
Certainly there was a lot of enthusiasm from both teachers and students, an expressed commitment to do something different in the classroom. Absolutely there were important discussions that took place that may lead to further seeking later on. And definitely there emerged from our time together a deeper understanding of one another.
Never again will members of our team think of “the Chinese” as a 1.2 billion nameless, faceless mass of humanity; rather, we will remember Anna, Jim, Ray, Bonnie, Jenny ….
Never again will our Chinese friends think of “the Americans” as we are defined by the media – violent, hedonistic and spoiled; rather, they will remember Valerie, Gil, Susie, Charlie, Bridger …(One young Chinese girl wrote on her blog site of how much she missed us.)
We appreciate the continued thoughts of people who followed this trip. Please continue to be concerned about the long-term impact of the relationships that were built. Thanks so much.
t is always hard to know how to wrap up my thoughts on a trip like this. I find myself sitting and thinking about the different people we encountered. We spoke a different language, we’ve had vastly different life experiences, we have different belief systems – but there is a common bond that brings us together and helps us to realize that we have much in common.During our next-to-last free talk, I shared a poem I had written. The poem did not so much reflect my own search for meaning as it articulated the search of a person who senses a greater meaning in life – but isn’t quite sure where to find it. I share it here because some asked me about it – not because I think it is a literary masterpiece (no literary critique, please!).
I WonderReading Luke’s blog (below), I find myself wrestling with many of the same questions. It is impossible to know the impact that our three-week presence in China will have.
Jeff Sherlock
I walk outside under the stars and the moonlit night sky and I wonder…
I hold my newborn son in my arms, see that he has all his fingers and toes in the right places and I wonder …
I see an old man and an old woman walking in the park holdingarms supporting one another in their old age and I wonder …
I watch a teacher with a rowdy bunch of students patiently and lovingly instructing them to become productive citizens and I wonder …
I look at the crops growing in the fields, the snow on distant mountains, the sea crashing against the rocks and I wonder …
Is it really likely that all this is just an accident, just random molecules joining and separating without any plan?
Are children just the visible product of a chemical process that began when two masses of matter experienced a chemical attraction toward one another?
Are the feelings of love that people experience no more than a programmed instinct for survival of the species?
Do teachers love their students merely out of duty – and what is duty anyway
without meaning?
Are the green crops, white snow, and blue sea just there?
I doubt it.
If so, why does my heart yearn for peace, for a more thorough explanation, for a deeper meaning?
I wonder.
Certainly there was a lot of enthusiasm from both teachers and students, an expressed commitment to do something different in the classroom. Absolutely there were important discussions that took place that may lead to further seeking later on. And definitely there emerged from our time together a deeper understanding of one another.
Never again will members of our team think of “the Chinese” as a 1.2 billion nameless, faceless mass of humanity; rather, we will remember Anna, Jim, Ray, Bonnie, Jenny ….
Never again will our Chinese friends think of “the Americans” as we are defined by the media – violent, hedonistic and spoiled; rather, they will remember Valerie, Gil, Susie, Charlie, Bridger …(One young Chinese girl wrote on her blog site of how much she missed us.)
We appreciate the continued thoughts of people who followed this trip. Please continue to be concerned about the long-term impact of the relationships that were built. Thanks so much.
