enabling others

 

Of Bonnie

I both want to matter

and to also slip into being dispensable,

a significant part of the backstory,

more like being in people's bibliographies

than in what they create now themselves,

I excelled as a teacher, as an educator,

for I saw, felt, acted upon the reality

of the person before me:

I believed in them,

and I hoped they could then 

believe in themselves,

in part from what I readily gave them,

one former student, 

from early on in my Friends School career,

now asserts her love, her understanding,

the fullness of who she is,

the wholeness of what she hopes for her students,

every day in the classroom at Berkeley,

in her devotion to the relationships she helps create,

as natural to her as breathing,

particularly for those challenged 

by how society deals the cards

they're allowed to play,

if I were they, 

I would appreciate having her on my side

helping me find the ways forward,

I'll bet she shares what drove me for years,

a craving to connect and to help each student

find their way into the power that should be their birthright,

her successes vitally important

as she enables the others

to find their own way,

not that she has made it so by herself,

she matters, but every student of hers 

matters so much more.

by Henry H. Walker

October 23, ‘26

the gift of his life

 

encircled by his life

connectivity,

passion, 

moral callings,

humor,

intensity,

the intellect,

animals,

competition:

one person can make a huge difference in our lives,

the repurposed gym serves as center

to draw in hundreds of us,

to encircle the life of one of us

who has passed on,

as I move through clusters

of those I have known

and of those I do not yet know,

the power of relationships focused here

brings waves of tears from my eyes,

I start to feel the overwhelming power

of ripples from Peter Klopfer's bold assertion

of the influence of his life,

the brightness of the Light he lived

has drawn many of us here to witness

his life of meaning and of joy,

building connections into relationships,

listening to the charges that we can do better,

that we must do better,

that the world needs each of us to wake up

and reach toward a better world

than what our lazy, unthinking choices can give us,

instead of being lost and alone,

Peter challenges us to listen to our callings,

and work toward the greatness inherent

in the best of who we can be,

Peter knew the rules,

asserted the rules,

expected the universe to follow those rules,

and there is no patience in his universe 

for suffering fools gladly, no matter where,

Peter got us across the desert,

it is up to us what we do now.

by Henry H. Walker

October 24, ‘26

a continued sharing

 

keeping Jean's Dream alive

we call it "Jean's Dream":

a hope, and a plan, to endure

with a continued sharing,

of the "Cabin on the Creek"

as a comfortable portal into wonders,

the wonders inherent in a full experience

of immersion into the Smoky mountains,

and into the embrace of family and friends

finding and appreciating each other

in a comfortable place 

that both relaxes and energizes,

Mother had a vision

of creating a camp, Chewase,

and, once into that journey,

found a spot available to purchase,

bought it, built the cabin, and preserved it all

for family, friends, and for those who could become friends,

to find their way there, and, once there,

to immerse into the healing moments,

all possible, because Mother

invested her whole self in the project,

committing for years to the sweat equity

of renting rooms when Gatlinburg became too full,

of renting the whole cabin to those with the means to pay,

even though for this to work,

she would teach a full day in Knoxville,

drive to Gatlinburg,

make the space ready for the upcoming renters:

cleaning, making the beds with fresh sheets,

including washing the tub that probably wouldn't be used,

then drive back to Knoxville,

and teach again the next day,

now it takes a team to mirror her work,

the "Dream" survives,

though we have to work hard

to keep this magical portal open and available,

true to what Mother hoped for

in the dream she labored to bring forth,

a dream we plan to do our best to keep alive and functioning,

Mother mattered 

and we need to keep who she was alive,

for today, for tomorrow, for her,

and for her "Dream."

by Henry H. Walker

October 26, ‘26

nature as adversary?

 the soul in nature?

there is a dark, strong current

flowing within English culture and thought

that views nature as adversary,

an evil wildness that needs to be conquered,

tamed, enslaved to the force of our will,

visit Williamsburg, or its like:

the shapes of shrubbery molded like clay

into geometric abstract perfection,

not the shapes natural to its growth,

I remember as a child walking into the woods,

disturbed by its messiness, its lack of clean order,

imagine Mount Everest,

and the challenge of achieving its summit,

how much did the climbers view the climb as subjugation?

reducing the highest mountain on Earth into a desired trophy,

like a hunter displaying the head of a killed animal on the wall,

such an adversarial take on it all

allows us to indulge our will, our ego,

our self-centeredness,

and we thus lose a possible spiritual connection

with that outside the narrowness of our self-definition,

perhaps the Nepalese, who were vital to the Everest expedition,

gave the English not only their vital logistical help

but also an even higher challenge to which to rise:

to mature enough inside to see and understand

that the world outside us has its own life,

that the inanimate might have a soul as we feel we do,

can we let ourselves grow up,

and notice,

and maybe love all of the world around us?

by Henry H. Walker

October 27, ‘26