My Life as a Sponge: A Parable Glenda Hensley
Our teacher often reminded us that learning was simply a natural part of life – that we were constantly absorbing knowledge from the water. She explained, “Our life cycle is guided by how we absorb the water, and that when we no longer absorb the wisdom of water, our cycle will come to an end.” This just didn’t seem possible to me – after all, “there is plenty of water, and of course we want to absorb it,” I said. So our teacher took out some interesting gadgets and toys and showed us how to measure the depth of our pool of water and then make charts and graphs to compare the measurements with the pool across the way. Our teacher explained why it was important to understand how these measurements could effect our life as sponges. “If there is not enough water to form our pool, we will have no source, no learning, and no life,” she said. “So it is important to become conservationists.” That was a lot to absorb, so she let us play games and make up stories for the rest of the week. We even made up stories about what to do if there was not enough water in our pool. One day we even pretended to be experts who solved sponge problems. She said some of our stories were so good that we should write them down. “We have the coolest teacher!” I thought. One day as we floated along, our teacher demonstrated how the different parts of the water combine to support our brilliance and fullness. She explained that the water was brimming with the knowledge of the rocks and minerals along its path, and that some of the rocks were millions of years old. We couldn’t imagine that many years, so our teacher showed us examples of different types of rocks and how they formed the container for our water. She explained how the process had taken so long, and that it was actually still happening. Our teacher reminded us again, “It is very important to respect the water as our source of nourishment and wisdom. Sponges need the water.” One day we talked about where the water came from and where it is going, because we noticed that our pool is always swirling with new water. Our teacher showed us pictures of sponges in other pools that were a long distance from ours. We noticed that they absorbed water just like us, but were different shapes and colors. Our teacher showed us how to send messages to these strangers using pieces of wood floating on the currents of the water. We had lots of fun telling them our stories and were curious to hear about life in their pool. We wondered how long it would take for our messages to arrive, so our teacher explained how the wind and cycles of the moon moved the water along. When we noticed that the wood could float just like us, our teacher told us about the different kinds of wood and how it also shared wisdom with the water. Then we wondered, “What else shares wisdom with the water?” Our teacher then explained how everything was connected, the rocks and minerals, the trees and plants, the wind, the sun and moon, the water, and us – the sponges. “When you absorb the water,” she said, “you absorb something of all that gave wisdom to the water.” What an idea!” I thought. …. I continued to think about that idea for a long time. Of course, some days we just played in the water of our pool, allowing our round bodies to create fun shapes and designs. We noticed that we could navigate the pool better when we were full of water in each cell of our sponge bodies. Our teacher suggested, “Perhaps you should try to always absorb the water fully, to your best ability.” The other day I noticed how beautifully the water reflected my brilliant round body – I could see myself talking and laughing. Our teacher explained how the sun made the reflection possible on the water and how light makes pretty colors. She even showed us how to change what we saw by putting on special glasses and explained that some sponges see the colors differently. “Wow, so we don’t all see the colors the same way?” I asked. For some reason our teacher did not answer but instead asked, “What is your favorite color? When you have chosen one, I want you to think about why you chose this color and talk with your friends about their favorite colors. Also, do you think your color is better?” We all laughed, “What a silly question! Of course the colors are all good, they’re just different!” Sometimes I think my teacher is teasing. So we talked all afternoon about why we each seemed to see the colors differently. Then we played games to create colors in the water and even made pictures to show why we liked our colors best. One day my teacher noticed me floating alone and asked, “What are you thinking about today, my little sponge?” “I was wondering if perhaps some of me is actually in the water that the others absorb, you know, like the rocks and colors. Are sponges all sharing our wisdom with each other through the water too?” I asked. My teacher simply smiled. I smiled too and thought to myself, “Ahhh…., life as a sponge sure is good!” The End – or maybe the Beginning!
Reflective Thoughts If the educator were to teach from a holistic perspective, perhaps she or he could see new designs that might work better. If we all remember that we are connected, perhaps holistic learning is actually the only way to truly absorb wisdom. |