1997 … 2000  … 2021… 2024  … 2028

May we remember our past with gratitude;

May we live our present with intention;

May we take care of our future selves as best we can.

~ Trish Harris, yoga teacher, Divine Journey Yoga

The past, present, and future weave together like an imperfect tapestry. I’ve been retired from teaching school since 1997 and I still get that new year feeling in September. When I was teaching at Washington School in W. Caldwell, New Jersey it actually started mid-August – going to my classroom, preparing folders, writing lesson plans, crafting the welcome letter to students and their family for that first day of school.

Looking back I see it began even before I was a teacher. A new year began the first day of school from kindergarten to high school, then each new year at Wagner College. Newness was the watchword – new clothes, new teacher, new classmates.

Today, my classroom for learning and hopefully sharing some bits of what works for me is Life.

PAST 

The past few months have held summer laziness along with big time heat and monsoons here in Tucson. Sorrow enveloped us at the death of my stepdaughter, two relatives, and very recently a dear friend. Support for these losses came from family and my chosen family, who sent cards, emails and shared kindness. Spiritual support comes as Hank and I read about grief and receive spiritual and health guidance. There is a tangible healing when someone listens deeply with their ears, eyes, and heart. I have loved ones who did that for us. My stroke recovery continues with daily gratitude for my continued health (see Stroke Letter blog)

PRESENT 

Most days I say, “This was a good day. “Good” meaning I retain a strong sense of hope and humor. I hold what Sharon Salzburg (co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, author and meditation pioneer) defines as sympathetic joy for my great niece and great nephew as they experience the next stage of their lives at Clemson University and University of Virginia. I’m so happy for them. Their present is a solid step to their future. 

I am happy in my home. I’m smiling right now as Hank and I sit at either end of the dining room table – each of us writing.

FUTURE 

In less than three weeks I begin my second year of Tacheria. Tacheria is a Tucson and Phoenix based organization associated with Spiritual Directors International (SDI)

Tacheria: Our Mission

Believing love and peace to be gifts living in all of us, Tacheria Interfaith Spirituality Center is dedicated to promoting spiritual growth and companionship in groups and individuals so we may serve as examples of wisdom in the world. 

 The first year I met 12 people who are on this journey. I like to think we are sisters in spirituality. 

I made a decision to complete the course and go for certification as a spiritual companion. Many people are exploring ways to blend their religious beliefs with a strong leaning to live a spiritual life. I’ve been on a spiritual journey for 39 years in my beloved 12-step program. Studying Western Buddhism, reading Thich Nhat Hanh, and taking classes at the Center of Spiritual Living Tucson have certainly woven a spiritual tapestry for me. 

One of the strongest affirmations of hope for our future is seeing the faculty school parking lots in my neighborhood begin to fill up each morning. It started late July.  Preparations being made to teach, encourage, exhort, and help the next generation of our country’s thinkers, leaders, scientists, artists, inventors, entertainers. 

We live near Sabino High School. When Hank and I play tennis there on weekend mornings, a parade of families goes by out to the field. Pint-sized cheerleaders, skinny kids with oversized helmeted heads run ahead of parents who pull wagons filled with water bottles, food, and sun umbrellas for a full day at school!!! Yay, kids! Yay, parents and other adults who support education!

Tucson, Teaching, Tacheria, and some plans for Travel. I’d say I’m ready .

Ethel Lee-Miller blogs regularly about people, the power of words, and her writing life. She retired after 30 years of teaching, and semi-retired from coaching, and professional editing. Founder of the Eastside Writing Room based in Tucson AZ, she’s posted 100s of blogs, and is the author of Thinking of Miller Place, and Seedlings, Stories of Relationships. These days she writes to inspire, to connect with folks, teaching about the power of words, gather writers together, and for the pure enjoyment of it. Ethel enjoys teaching, speaking, and storytelling at Odyssey Storytelling, Artists Standing Strong Together, Center for Spiritual Living Tucson, and anywhere there’s a mic or a Zoom room.