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Suspending disbelief
By Laura | January 22, 2010
If you’re lucky, you get to take a class from an amazing teacher while you’re in school. If you’re very lucky, you are forever changed by your interactions with such a teacher. I have had two such teachers in my lifetime, in 5th grade and in high school. (And, now, to some extent, a third teacher in this journey.)
When I first met Alice Ann Eberman, she was dressed in costume as Beowulf’s mother, in an effort to make the teaching of Beowulf as enjoyable as possible. Later, as two of my good friends and I shared lunch with her on a weekly basis, and I traveled to Italy and Greece with her after graduation, I came to regard her with great respect as an amazing spirit and teacher. I have been thinking of her a lot lately because she had a sign which hung over the door to her classroom with a saying on it that, more and more, fits with my experiences on this journey.
“Enter with a willing suspension of disbelief”
This journey has carried us to some amazing locations. It has introduced us to generous and fascinating people. And it has taught us to hold our own expectations at bay.
When we were getting ready for our presentation in Tucson, we spent time thinking about some of the lessons we’ve already learned on this trip. For me, the biggest one is perfectly embodied in the quote above… nothing is ever what it seems, your assumptions and expectations will always be questioned, and it’s best to keep an open mind and open heart and let things unfold as they will… because the more you’re able to drop your presumptions, the more you’re able to see someone the way they want to be seen, and experience a situation in a way that you will never forget.
When we went to Slab City, I was expecting a sort of dusty hippie commune. I found evidence of community, but not nearly as much as I had assumed would be there. At first, I felt rather disappointed and let down that it wasn’t what I had wanted it to be. But, the longer we stayed and the more we explored, I was able to appreciate it for what it was.
Now we are in Bisbee, Arizona. We are hiding out from the “storm of the century.” And it has afforded us the great opportunity to see and experience this funky town. An old mining town, it was once one of the largest cities between St. Louis and San Francisco. It used to be home to brothels and saloons. Now it is home to a variety of hardened workers and artists and folks with intriguing backstories. It is rough and beautiful and best appreciated by letting it be what it is.
The longer we are on the road, the more I am relaxing into this role of vagabond. I’ve never really been a “girly-girl” but I have always cared about appearances. And I have a habit of saving things for the “perfect” moment. As the days go by, I am slowly dropping my presumptions that my way is the best way, and I am learning to just be where I am and let it change me as it will.
And I am realizing how important the concept of being “willing” is to experiencing serendipity. The more I want to hear the stories, the more people open up to me. The more I accept the quirks, the more I appreciate them. The more I suspend my disbelief, the more I learn about myself and the world around me.
Many thanks to my friends McHale, Samidh and Ben, who together helped me remember the exact wording of the above quote.
Topics: Uncategorized |
January 23rd, 2010 at 1:00 am
Laura,
There are many things in my life over the past few years that have brought me to this same conclusion. In Buddhist teachings it also talks about a letting go. I would say some teachers that come to my mind are: Pema Chodron, Dr Wayne Dyer and my eldest son. It is when I let go (very hard for me) that some of the best stuff happens in my life. Beautiful subject, thank you for bringing it up. - Carl
I took up yoga and a song the instructor would play once in a while was “Let Go” by Imogen Heap.
a great acoustic version of it is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDiCr7BNVY4
Let Go - lyrics
drink up baby doll
Are you in or are you out?
Leave your things behind
‘Cause it’s all going off without you
Excuse me too busy you’re writing your tragedy
These mishaps
You bubble-wrap
When you’ve no idea what you’re like
[Chorus:]
So, let go, let go
Jump in
Oh well, what you waiting for?
It’s all right
‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
So, let go, let go
Just get in
Oh, it’s so amazing here
It’s all right
’cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
It gains the more it gives
And then it rises with the fall
So hand me that remote
Can’t you see that all that stuff’s a sideshow?
Such boundless pleasure
We’ve no time for later
Now you can’t await
your own arrival
you’ve twenty seconds to comply
[Chorus:]
So, let go, so let go
Jump in
Oh well, what you waiting for?
It’s alright
‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
So, let go, yeah let go
Just get in
Oh, it’s so amazing here
It’s all right
‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
[Chorus:]
So, let go,
Jump in
Oh well, what you waiting for?
It’s alright
‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
So, let go, yeah let go
Just get in
Oh, it’s so amazing here
It’s all right
‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
In the breakdown
‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
The breakdown
So amazing here
‘Cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
January 23rd, 2010 at 6:39 am
Have fun in Bisbee folks, its a great town and was my home for 10 years. While you’re there you may as well take the Queen Mine tour and get a glimpse of how life was underground. There are probably still a couple micro breweries in business and the mining museum is worth a visit. Cochise county is loaded with old west history—the Apache wars, the Buffalo Soldiers, Tombstone with the Earp Brothers and Doc Halliday, and the mine owners fight with the ILO where ILO members were rounded up, put in boxcars, and taken out in the desert and dumped. The mystery writer J. A. Jance was raised in Bisbee and has written several novels set in the county. The Atalanta book store is a good place to stop in.
January 23rd, 2010 at 9:14 am
I lived in nearby Sierra Vista, AZ for awhile. I went to Bisbee almost every chance I got. It is for me, one of the most amazing towns in America. We used to drink lots of a local Brew “Dave’s Electric Ale”. That was about 20 years ago - I wonder if it is still made…
January 23rd, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Hi Carl - That’s actually one of my favorite songs (and favorite artists)! Thanks for the YouTube link, it’s a great version. Funny, I actually used to listen to that station back in Long Beach.
January 25th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Thanks for the beautiful post Laura! I think I have been to Bisbee. I visited a friend in Tempe several times and we took a road trip. I am going to have to ask her if that is where we went.
January 26th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Thanks for these amazing posts about what you are learning and living on your journey.
January 29th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Great post Laura! You brought to mind two of my A+ teachers. Stacey Redican my High Schoo 11th grade English teacher. A supercool guy who keep me focused no matter how much I goofed off(and I realllly goofed off!!). He’d let me write papers on two of my Fav subjects, Dr.Who and Heavy Metal and their social-historical significance during the Reagan years we we’re living in. Ohhhh my youth….lol
Then in college Dr.Joanna Bassert. She was not only a teacher, but a mentor. Without her guidance and faith in me I wouldn’t of applied to a post-grad Veterinary Tech Intern program at the world’s largest Veterinary Hosp. I certainly didn’t think I’d get in….she did!
Cheers to them and all the teachers out there for helping guide us on our way!