I scraped that post out late in the evening on Monday, then deleted it, and there I was banjaxed! But I was trying to say something very very good, so it's a bit of a shame. And then Marcheline felt I was being a cruel tease, and I hadn't even thought of that! Truth is I got in trouble for blogging, rather unjustly, it had devastating implications, and now I am recovering step by step. The Phoenix rises slowly, and sometimes sinks and then has to rise again.
Now I'm having to teach my students a mini version of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and though it amuses me greatly to be the one to deliver this, and though I think it's probably not what 18 year-old students need to be doing, I find I am curiously susceptible to these ideas just at this moment of my life. Or at any rate it is giving me pause for thought. Habit 2: Begin With The End In Mind is the main part of the teaching session I'm doing. It's about planning and goal-setting, and visualising where you want to get to. What it makes me realise is how I have never done these things in any significant way. Never had a career path, never had a game plan, never had goals, short or long term... And there are many reasons for this. Many reasons why I could never actually imagine a future at all, in which to visualise myself doing anything. And it has been in many ways the work of my adult life so far to understand this, to see what has happened to me, and maybe finally to have some other choice. To have hope at any rate. Even to think about looking ahead, planning ahead, thinking about what I want and going for it - all this is so revolutionary I can hardly believe I'm even thinking of it now. But I am. And only incidentally related to Mr Covey's formula! I am imagining how I might develop my work with young people, contact other schools, do a training. These thoughts are very new, but I feel a kind of hope and excitement I haven't even glimpsed for years.
4 comments:
W000t! who needs blog posts if one has glimpses. "Banjaxed". Great word. Can this *really* be the etymology? http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054909837
Actually it stems from the Urdu "Bahnn Gehecked" which refers to a large pottery cooking bowl or gourd....These gourds were not very resistant to heat and developed cracks at the base.
When the Pasthu women lifted these onto their shoulders the base frequently came away showering the carrier with hot liquid or stew.
By common usage then the term became a descriptor for an item which was faulty or unsafe.
For instance when someone would attempt to lift a full basket of cobras for the snake charmer someone might say .."Be carefull Parminder....that could be bahnn gehecked...
British soldiers in India brought the expression to these islands
Yes, I had rather the feeling of someone playing Call My Bluff on this one!
I realize your particular situation is special. I was reacting to a general spate of teaser posts lately in the blogiverse, I suppose. People who post about what they aren't going to actually tell you, or people who don't post for months on end, only to post an apology for not posting... you know, stuff like that. No one is actually suffering any cruelty-related trauma because you won't post what you wrote, it's all good. Just call me ex-lax. Trying to get things moving, is all.
So glad!
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