Snow quiets. 
Water reflects. 
Rest strengthens.
Learning inspires.

Standing in snow covered sand, looking across the winter glass of ocean water on a calm day, quiet opens for the mind to rest. We take inventory of our place: the smooth round of a stone, the blue glaze of a broken shell, the curved flight of a dipping gull. Standing apart from our routine, we have the opportunity to consider how our learning aligns with our living.

The quality of our learning is dependent on the quality of our rest. School vacation is a time to recoup, to step away from our studies, to break from our routine. Hard work does not guarantee progress. Pushing on a door marked “pull” will never give access. Resting is an undervalued habit in the attention economy forever directing us to engage with promises of improvement: stronger, smarter, healthier, happier. Nowhere do we find the message to unplug.

Deep learning calls for empty space where the mind can wander and wonder, piece things together, turn ideas differently, imagine the undreamed of. Education must expect more than reciting what is already known or practicing what has already been done. It must call out for what is not yet known and what has never been done. Significant learning calls for discipline, open time, quiet space, and periods of rest. 

I hope during our winter break you have the opportunity to practice the habit of resting your mind. Walk to a water’s edge on a still day. Allow yourself to be drawn into the quiet. Notice what is immediately around you. Ground yourself to the moment. Hold the quiet. Consider how the habit of resting might become part of how you prepare your mind each day for deeper learning.

Peace,
Chris