A COMING ANNIVERSARY

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It is September. In eight days I will celebrate the first anniversary of what everyone calls “a divine miracle”: my survival of a massive cerebral hemorrahage as an unscathed “5 per center.” So, as the 15th approaches, as the self-examining period of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur draws near, I’ve been thinking and feeling more intensely than usual about my life in the classroom, my life as a whole, and life in general. This morning, during my power walk at dawn, I looked up at the clear, still star-studded, sky. Tears formed in my eyes and dripped down my cheeks. I felt so reborn. I felt so clear about my purpose in life. I felt so completely alive. I felt so completely free. I so felt this overwhelming sense of happiness, and realization of how much of a blessing it is to have just this single moment of life. I stopped to take a deep breath. I came oh so close to dropping down on the sidewalk for a convulsive cry of joy. Really!

You see, walking through the valley of the shadow of death has enlightened my life—and changed my attitude toward life and death. I feel as if I had taken my first step on this magnificent inner journey when I had my personal epiphany in 1991 that has been spreading through all facets of my life like a protective vaccine; then, there was surviving my cancer four years ago. But coming through my near-fatal cerebral hemorrahage dwarfed their impact. Nevertheless, they each are like sheets of sandpapers of my life. Their grits are still shaping my spirit and soul. They are still smoothing and polishing my awareness, otherness, empathy, sensitivity, appreciation, humility, and hopefully my wisdom. Each day I awaken with the realization that what I choose to do with this one day is up to me. So, each day I consciously make a resolution to consciously greet this one and only day I have with a resolving “yes;” that I will not live in the shadow of pessimism, cynicism, anxiety, and fear; that I won’t let the gift of this one more day pass unwrapped as a blur and merely mark it off as an “ah me” passing of “just another.” Instead, I will live, love, laugh, have fun, and enjoy to the fullest throughout this one more day given to me–as it if were my last and as it almost was on that fateful September 15th—with no guarantee of tomorrow. Now, if that be “touchy-feely,” so be it. It beats being down and jaded and numb.

How does this affect my teaching? My gratitude is a continuous state of heart and mind. Wherever I go and whatever I do, there it is. A great worship is going on all the time, so nothing should be neglected or excluded from my constant meditative awareness. Each day I awaken knowing, especially from student entries in their journals, that the most effective teaching tool I have at my fingertips is me, for as I can see the holiness in each student, I know I will concentrate on finding and helping each of them to find what is good in her or him, and I will experience a life that is filled with fulfillment and gratitude. And, when you have a strong sense of who you are and a clear vision of where you want to go and what you want to do and whom you want to serve with your teaching, you then have the foundation for reaching out to each student, the strength to overcome all obstacles, and the courage to go after your dreams for a better, more meaningful, and more purposeful life.

So, I always dance onto campus firmly knowing that this day is mine to experience; this day is mine not to let my heart get distanced from any student; this day is mine to live; this day is mine to express what it means to be alive; this day is mine to smile and laugh; this day is mine to remember that my authenticity is stronger than any obstacle; this day is mine to act to make a positive, meaningful difference; this day is filled with untold possibilities; this day I have the power to transform any ordinary moment into something extraordinary; this day is mine to make the impossible possible; this day is mine not to take, but to give and share; this day is mine to live with all the purpose and richness I can imagine; this day is mine to help a student help herself or himself become a little more who she or he is capable of becoming; this day is mine to fill with optimism, cheerfulness, kindness, empathy, belief, support, encouragement, hope, and love; this day is mine to live true to my highest purpose; this day is mine to know fulfillment and satisfaction.

Sound Pollyannaish? Maybe. Then again, maybe you have to stare the Grim Reaper in its faceless face to understand that the attitude and feeling I have are not “head-in-the-clouds.” They are soul nurturing, feet-on-the-ground. You see, being up is a greater high than being down, that optimism is deeper than pessimism, and that cheerful confidence more profound than fear. My natural exuberance gives me an upbeat view of the classroom. I believe optimism grounded on faith in students and love of each of them is far superior to “realistic” pessimism or resignation. I choose to be grateful for what life has given me, not bitter or anxious about what it hasn’t. There are limits to human control. Maybe that’s why I found facing death a year ago to be life-enriching. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of that fateful day. The mere thought of nearly dying has brightened my life. It somehow made and still makes the light of life dispel the shadows of death. It makes every minute of every hour of every day a blessing, every happiness more luminous, every gratefulness more intense; it develops a hunger that is a form of infectious meaning, purpose, and joy.

Louis

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About Louis Schmier

LOUIS SCHMIER “Every student should have a person who wants to help him or her help himself or herself become the person he or she is capable of becoming, and I’ll be damned if I am ever going to let one human being fall through the cracks in my classes without a fight.” How about a snapshot of myself. But, what shall I tell you about me? Something personal? Something philosophical? Something pedagogical? Something scholarly? Nah, I'll dispense with that resume stuff. Since I believe everything we do starts from who we are inside, what we believe, what we perceive, and what we do is an extension of ourselves, how about if I first say some things about myself. Then, maybe, I can ease into other things. My name is Louis Schmier. The first name rhymes with phooey, the last with beer. I am a 76 year old - in body, but not in mind or spirit - born and bred New Yorker who came south in 1963. I met by angelic bride, Susie, on a reluctant blind date at Chapel Hill. We've been married now going on 51 years. We have two marvelous sons. One is a VP at Samsung in San Francisco. The other is an artist with food and is an executive chef at a restaurant in Nashville, Tn. And, they have given us three grandmunchkins upon whom we dote a bit. I power walk 7 miles every other early morning. That’s my essential meditative “Just to …” time. On the other days, I exercise with weights to keep my upper body in shape. I am an avid gardener. I love to cook on my wok. Loving to work with my hands as well as with my heart and mind, I built a three room master complex addition to the house. And, I am a “fixer-upper” who allows very few repairmen to step across the threshold. Oh, by the way, I received my A.B. from then Adelphi College, my M.A. from St. John's University, and my Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I have been teaching at Valdosta State University in Georgia since 1967. Having retired reluctantly in December, 2012, I currently hold the rank of Professor of History, Emeritus. I prefer the title, “Teacher”. Twenty-five years ago, I had what I consider an “epiphany”. It changed my understanding of myself. I stopped professoring and gave up scholarly research and publication to devote all my time and energy to student. My teaching has taken on the character of a mission. It is a journey that has taken me from seeing only myself to a commitment to vision larger than myself and my self-interest. I now believe that being an educator means I am in the “people business”. I now believe that the most essential element in education is caring about people. Education without caring, without a real human connection, is as viable as a person with a brain but without a heart. So, when I am asked what I teach, I answer unhesitatingly, “I teach students”. I am now more concerned with the students’ learning than my teaching, more concerned with the students as human beings than with the subject. I am more concerned with reaching for students than reaching the height of professional reputation. I believe the heart of education is to educate the heart. The purpose of teaching is to instill in all students genuine, loving, lifelong eagerness to learn and foster a life of continual growth and development. It should encourage and assist students in developing the basic values needed for learning and living: self-discipline, self-confidence, self-worth, integrity, honesty, commitment, perseverance, responsibility, pursuit of excellence, emotional courage, creativity, imagination, humility, and compassion for others. In April, 1993, I began to share ME on the internet: my personal and professional rites of passage, my beliefs about the nature and purpose of an education, a commemoration of student learning and achievement, my successful and not so successful experiences, a proclamation of faith in students, and a celebration of teaching. These electronic sharings are called “Random Thoughts”. There are now over 1000 of them floating out there in cyberspace. The first 185, which chronicles the beginnings of my journey, have been published as collections in three volumes, RANDOM THOUGHTS: THE HUMANITY OF TEACHING, RANDOM THOUGHTS, II: TEACHING FROM THE HEART, RANDOM THOUGHTS, III: TEACHING WITH LOVE, and RANDOM THOUGHTS, IV: THE PASSION OF TEACHING. The chronicle of my continued journey is available in an Ebook on Amazon's Kindle in a volume I call FAITH, HOPE, LOVE: THE SPIRIT OF TEACHING. There a few more untitled volumes in the works..

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