#iamknown

+ “Never regard study as a duty but as an enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later works belong.” — Albert Einstein

Why do we do what we do?

Recently Peter Hutton, founder of Future Schools Alliance (FSA) published a thought piece around this theme of “why do we (teachers) do what we do”. His provocation got me thinking about why I do what I do.

I believe we are all on our own unique and personal journey, where we all seek understanding, meaning, wisdom and knowledge. Where we want to know why we’re here. Where we crave purpose, acceptance and love. Remembering that none of us directly operates within the world as it is. We create internal representations, or maps, of the world based on our perceptions and experience of it.

So, why do you do what you do? Throughout my life journey, I have witnessed the different motivations of people as to their “why”. Some out of need, obligation or simply ticking boxes, as set out by society. Or some do it from a position of pride, out of a sense of duty. Other times I have encountered individuals motivated for purely selfish reasons. I have also met people who operate from a passion that burns deep inside. And some people, no doubt, do what they do for attention or affection. Which one of these resonates with your own lived experience to date?

So, I return to my why. For me, it has always been these two simple drivers:

1. For Self-Actualisation

Often our best actions are deeply rooted in love and done for others. However, we are best positioned to love someone else when we’ve worked resolutely to forge a new horizon for ourselves. My evolution as an educator and as a man has enabled my relationships with self, God, place and the other to flourish even more.

When we do the work and invest in improving ourselves, we evolve all aspects of our being. Then, we take what we’ve learned and share that light and love with the other. This feeling of self-actualisation is worth actively working toward for true personal fulfillment. Think Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

2. For All

I come full circle with this one and re-iterate the words of Einstein above. Let your thoughts, words and actions, manifested in a most munificent manner, be for “the profit of the community to which your later works belong.”

Effective educators leave a legacy, and a tremendous influence on the life of the other. This is a privilege and gift. Our actions have the capacity to leave an echo throughout eternity. When education chose me, it become apparent that I had assumed the responsibility of this social imperative to act in the best interests of young people. We should never forget that each young person in our care is home to a life. And I am therefore called to support each young person in my care, in discovering their inherent possibility.

This is the human act of giving. Therefore generosity, love and kindness are not impulsive reactions. They require a profound consciousness and concern for the other. They’re communicated via your considered words and the intent of your actions that inspire and radiate hope. The gifts of gratitude and love will be yours in return.

“We are the ones that help others succeed. We are the ones behind the success of people making significant contributions in the world. Collectively we are the ones that influence the tone for society and bring exceptional learning experiences to young people.” ~ Peter Hutton | Founder Future Schools Alliance

My vocation allows me the opportunity to enter into the lives of young people and assist them in shaping what type of person they aspire to be. As an educator I know I need to honour this truth and embrace the privilege and price of giving their life, their why the breath of abundant living.

Hutton’s provocation also got be thinking around what the costs are of fearing personal success and being afraid of becoming who you are called to be, your why.

Well the truth is you too are home to a life. Your heart is not a place to visit. It is your home. Unleash your “why” and embrace what burns inside of you. Honour this truth. Honour your heartbeat. Honour your sound. For it is your authentic self the world wishes to see, not another person afraid of their own possibility or their why. Honour a life lived on your terms. Think peace of mind, clarity of thought and the attainment of hopes and dreams.

+ “It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.” ~ Oriah Mountain Dreamer

My message to the graduating Class of 2018

Listen to the words above. Really listen. This invitation is about finding what we need, the necessary inspiration, the awareness, the courage and the commitment to live an abundant life. This invitation is ultimately calling for a conscious intimacy of self.

“At the heart of intimacy is self‐disclosure.” ~ John R. Buri. Listen to this invitation of self‐disclosure as it is most inspiring. It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know their own beauty or perceive a sense of their own worth until they are prepared to look within. You have a responsibility to become the individual you are at the deepest level of your being. Listen to your own awareness. Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone else’s inability to see your worth. You determine your truth.

Listen to the courage to dare to be yourself. You cultivate a commitment to honouring your truth when you allow your most vulnerable and powerful self to be deeply seen and known. This heightened level of consciousness ensures an awareness of self that creates your life meaning and your life story. You must have the courage to becoming self.

Listen to the words deep within. Commit to making your life the best, for yourself, those you love and those who love you. Only then can you ask how you can co‐create meaning together, in an indifferent world. Remembering that only those who truly feel the discomfort and challenge of these times will lead meaningful change.

On the 17 May 2009 President Barack Obama delivered a commencement address to the graduation class and stated, “Your class has come of age at a moment of great consequence for our nation and our world ‐ a rare inflection point in history where size and scope of the challenge before us require that we remake our world to renew its promise; that we align our deepest values and commitments to the demands of our new age. It is a privilege and a responsibility afforded few generations ‐ a task you are now called to fulfil”. This challenge to all present is one we should encourage all young people in our care to aspire to, a selflessness for the other. So finally listen to our collective story. The narrative we tell together is far more profound than the one you share alone.

A world where self and the other co‐exist in harmony. A world where love, compassion and joy win. A world that simply needs your truth to change.

Life is often an endless process of self‐actualisation. And our longest journey remains the journey inward. This requires a conscious connectedness with our truth and our compassion for the other ‐ people and nature. For us to continue to evolve we need to be conscious in our relationship and communion with self, God, place and the other.

Our collective future is in our hands, through our collective capacity to be advocates for the voiceless and oppressed. May you use this moment to awaken the light within you. Be gentle with what you discover through encounter. Be true to this calling to serve the other. Become beacons of light for those encountering much darkness and despair.

We are then called to be streams of living water in a world that is often succumbed to drought – faithless and hope‐less. The human is restless and dynamic, but oriented toward the mystery of life and therefore being open to self through the other is a reality.

I will leave you with the African philosophy of Ubuntu, the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity, as a profound example of becoming ‐ “I am what I am because of who we all are”. Through the power of relationships we construct who we are as humans. Relationships with our self, God, place and the other.

+ By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24:3-4

Hermitage & Marist House

Over the last three years we have been working collaboratively with our students, staff, parents and external partners to develop an exciting Masterplan for Marcellin College, Bulleen.

It has been a privilege to work in partnership with Cox Architecture and all our design partners to realise the aesthetic qualities and finishings, the very special Wurundjeri Heritage Garden and all art installations throughout both buildings.

The Hermitage and Marist House developments represent the first few stages of our Masterplan.

As part of the official Blessing and Opening of the redevelopmed Hermitage and Marist House buildings, this publication was developed to celebrate our rich history and welcome readers into understanding the ‘new build’ with a greater depth and interest.

+ 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~ Ephesians 3:14-19

Today I presented my personal philosophy to living this glorious life to the 2017 SRC Executive:

1. Be attentive to self: Be mindful to yourself in order to be attentive to others, as the greatest invest you can make in life is an investment in yourself.

2. Listen with the ear of the heart: It takes great courage to listen with the heart. Listen to your inner truth, honour that voice, it’s never wrong and most humbling.

3. Never objectify women: Real men need to stand up for equality and any form of injustice.

4. Travel on roads less travelled: Live courageously with purpose. Give yourself permission to think big and dream large.

5. Show gratitude: Never miss an opportunity to tell someone that you appreciate them. The power of gratitude is profound.

6. Listen for the heartbeat of God: Lean on the heartbeat of God and who’ll know what you’ll find. Give yourself permission to be moved by the Holy Spirit.

7. Keep the dangerous memory of Jesus alive: What burns in you? What is your calling?

8. Make mistakes. Fail: Accept that you will sometimes be wrong. Then forgive yourself.

9. Learning is the journey: Change isn’t easy. It’s a challenging road full of self-doubt and temptations and regret. But never give up. Push through and grow from each encounter.

10. Strive to be happy: Each week give yourself permission to create time and space to reflect, retreat and receive. Accept love over fear. And remember that LOVE is a verb. Thank you for allowing me to be a witness of your profound service to our community, your example of active presence and your unwavering commitment for the other. Thank you for the privilege of your friendship throughout 2017. Go in peace.