Authentic Beauty

Let’s be honest, our society, our culture our education and our schools are guided by productivity. How would it be like if we dream about our classroom being beautiful, a place that speaks to our souls. What could that be like?

That’s one of the questions Jessica White ponders with in our new years conversation how to bring more authentic beauty in our lives and learning. This bright woman is an inspiration to me and takes cyclical living to a wholebodied other level. She loves, loves, loves creating systems, and has many to guide herself and her coachees with; from circannual to circadian and everything in between (moon - menstrual - seasons). One of Jessica’s systems that stuck with me is applying time for doing-being; where you focus on creating & curating and then allowing time for cultivating & contemplating.

Question for us teachers would be; where does our school calendar match our energy flow, and where does it deplete us? I know the times where you make double hours because you have to grade work at night, while at the same time evaluating a module and setting up another module.

These cross over times, can be very depleting. Just the act of finding patterns in my rhythm and the school rythm already allowed me some space to make tiny adjustments! And as you probably know: tiny adjustments over time can make a big impact. With awareness comes intention and then choice. And it might be of interest to you why - especially as ADHD-er there's a difference between creating new habits or systems.

Embodiment is not an overnight thing with just quick wins/habits (although as a night owl, I DO DO DO celebrate every morning I am getting up early to do my practice before starting my work day). Embodiment is a Long term change that requires attention and practice. That’s why I believe it’s radical, it requires a true inner commitment. With a deep reward like Jessica says “true beauty that lives inside of you - every day”.

What I love about her, is her honesty. As we talk about cultivating authentic beauty that comes from the inside, Jessica’ shares “for me it’s not about fancy nails or lipstick, it’s more in surrounding me with beauty. Or wearing this sweater from fine gentle material that caresses my skin”. This makes a sensorial bridge towards living and learning as a neurodiverse being.

For example when it comes to emotions, people who are on the autism spectrum experience and show their emotions different from neurotypicals (Neurotypicality is used to describe people whose brain functions, ways of processing information and behaviours are seen to be standard, (Braincharity)), that’s why I really like her practice regarding the emotion wheel, so everyone can discover more about their own emotional cues in mind and body, which can then help in communication and learning.

" I still have that in my. Like core values of education is that it really should be students interest because.

Just like eating, intuitive eating, like it's all those things. It's as if we don't truly enjoy the process, our brains don't make memories and they don't hold that information for long periods.

And as somebody who's also neurodiverse and has neurodiverse children, it's even worse because our working memory, just like, you know, it could be different in three seconds."