WideMargins.net
with
Kalen Wilfred Marquis
I am a reader, writer and thinker who scribbles long, reflective notes in the margins. This page will be revised over time as I challenge and synthesize previous expressions of thought, feeling, intuition and experience. This playful process is born of the necessity of living an 'examined' life. In the words of Michelangelo, "It is only well with me when I have a chisel in my hands."
In the joyful pursuit of wisdom, wonder, and wellness, I love to collaborate with like-hearted creators, innovators and actualizers who celebrate the human need to actualize and flourish in the flow of passionate, purpose-filled pursuits. Responsive engagement as a model, mentor and companion on the journey of life requires presence of body, mind, heart and soul--a giddy and heartfelt desire for optimally-applied individual and organizational innovation so much greater than the sum of more performative parts.
After three decades of frontline service as a teacher, librarian and therapist in public and privtate practice, I am open to opportunities while living this 'liminal life' in alignment with my core values, inner compass, and soul's purpose. Love, empathy, encourgement and applied ethics are keystones.
I would love to hear from those who yearn to learn with love, empathy and encouragement. In this regard, I will always be a word traveller. The prompts that permeate this website are there for a reason. :-) Throughout my life, I have been blessed to be in the company of inspired and soulful models, mentors, and companions who demonstrate that it is not 'what' we do, but 'how' we do it and 'who' we do it with that creates deep meaning. Presence matters. Today's technological tools make it simple and easy to transcend time, space and the stratified trickle-down disconnect between theory and practice. Effective, adaptable and sustainable implementation opportunities abound.
For me, as a 'meaning-maker,' creating, connecting and sharing with like-hearted people is essential for fulfillment in each moment. As I endeavor not to 'rush the river,' I am reminded of the song I often sang with my youngest students: "Row, row, row your boat, gently down life's stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream." After all, it all begins and ends with the sage words of Chief Dan George, "The young and old are closest to life. They love every minute dearly." They know. As they have always known. The rest of us need only remember. This awareness, coupled with the "noblest pleasure" of the "joy of understanding" as Leonardo da Vinci wrote, is satisfying indeed.
Being Seen and Heard
In the same spirit that John O'Donohue writes, "One of the deepest longings of the human soul is to be seen," it is equally important to consider the human soul's need to be heard. As Karl A. Menninger says, "Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand."
Whether as a family member, friend, or human being in any role, there is immense therapeutic power in the capacity to listen. Just listen. Nothing is harder. Or more profound. It costs nothing. It gives much. Between each word, between each sentence, there is the silence. This is the gap where the love and light get in. The connection is deeper and more transcendent than just the twist or tumble of words.
We have much to learn from others--especially the misfits and the mercurial. They have their viewpoint and perspective too. We are infinitely richer and more empathetic for hearing what we may never see, feel, or experience ourselves. As Leonardo da Vinci said, "The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding." Empathize. Encourage. But most importantly...
Listen.
"Loneliness does not come from having
no people around, but from being unable
to communicate the things that seem
important to oneself, or from holding
certain views which others find
inadmissible."
(Carl Gustav Jung)
Liminal Life
In the spirit of Joseph Cambell's advice to 'follow your bliss' with faith in the 'invisible supports' that emerge to guide us on the 'hero's journey,' I acquiesced to 'Ms Universe' by retiring early as a teacher, librarian and counsellor to be in greater alignment with my heart, soul, and spirit during this transformative and alchemical stage of adult life.
As Eckhart Tolle says, "Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge." The key to more expansive and enduring fulfillment will, I'm sure, be a literal or figurative return to the 'humour and heartstrings' of the past. This old, stone heart and cobwebbed brain are full to the brim but life continues to unfold with mystery and delight.
So here I am, finding solace and creating joy in life with wide margins. I am inspired and affirmed by Carol Shields who seems to have read my heart and soul when she adroitly wrote, "This matters, the remaking of an untenable world through the nib of a pen; it matters so much I can't stop doing it." Or, to paraphrase Joseph Cambell, it is when we see the light at the end of the tunnel, that we have sauntered off the path." So, in a word: Onwards!
Love and best wishes on the journey! As Ram Dass so poignantly says, 'We are all just walking each other home.'
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