Thursday, September 4, 2008

Deep thought of the Day

I have been chided recently about not updating my blog, so here are two posts in one day. Aren't you excited?

My posts may start to be far and few between as I have just started back to school and my load seems to be great this semester. However, I will try to keep you updated on the happenings of the Proctors.

In one of my classes, we were talking about the many misconceptions students will walk into your classroom with and how it is your job as a teacher to correct those. (I do apologize that I am writing this as if you all are, or will be teachers.) My teacher than shared a misconception that she had had for many years. I found it to be profound.

When you think of the word 'nothing' what do you think of? Until yesterday, I would have said, nothing, zero, zilch. To say nothing means that it is empty. Isn't that what we are taught from when we are small?

Did you know that in Sanskrit (some eastern language, I believe you will find it in India,) their word for nothing does not have the same meaning as our word for nothing? Their word for nothing means "the potential for what can be." Isn't that amazing? It is like looking at an empty canvas, there is nothing there, but think what so many artists have created out of nothing? I definitely think that I like this idea of nothing much more than our traditional idea of nothing.

Just a little thought to get you all thinking. Hope you enjoy!

4 comments:

Michelle said...

Oh wow...I like it. :)

Monica said...

Ya know becky I had never really thought of it before you posted your blog. But I use nothing all the time as a way to say what can happen. I have friends that ask me what ya doin'? I always say nothing when I am looking for better ideas then what I am doing. But to the people I talk to it still means nada, zilch, nothing. So it is very interesting to know how if left to interpitation how things turn out.

Kasie said...

That is so crazy! It is so hard to not assume that everyone has the same context that I do! Thanks for the insight!

Jared, Miranda and Max said...

I love it! I hope I can use this new way of thinking to create a job for myself... and fast :) haha... how's work? Tell those who sit around you hi for me. Has Larisa gotten off to have her baby yet??