Nature has become my anti-depressant.

“Nature’s beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude.”
-Louie Schwartzberg 

When we develop the ability to appreciate the nature and the natural beauty which surrounds us, we will then be able to appreciate life itself and thus our own existence.

” It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living. “
– David Attenborough

We have the choice to appreciate or overlook the beauty which surrounds us.

What has been on my mind of late is that everywhere around me I seem to be seeing people who are activists for particular groups of people in society and I think to myself; why can’t we be activists for equity, fairness and compassion?

Why can’t we take it upon ourselves to appreciate the beauty that is everywhere in our natural environment rather than persistently comparing ourselves to others and firmly standing our ground for particular groups of people who are underappreciated or unfairly treated.

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”
-Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness

What about how underappreciated our natural environment is and how unfairly mother Earth is treated?

Take a few minutes to appreciate the absolute magnificence which surrounds us every single day.

Yesterday on the Sunshine Coast there were swarms of butterflies absolutely everywhere, migrating from one location to another. This amount of butterflies is a rare phenomenon which occurs once every six to ten years and I felt as if i’d found Utopia.
It’s moments like this where I forget all of the troubles in the world and just embrace the beauty which surrounds me.

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly. “
Richard Bach

“We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts. “
William Hazlitt

The future starts with how we educate our children.

Studying the topic of sustainability has my eyes and thoughts firmly affixed on the future and what it holds for our children.

Children suffer from the consequences of our lack of sustainable practice, but they do not have to be the victims.

“Unless somebody like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to  get better, it’s not!” 
-Dr Seuss. 

Children have such enormous potential for vast change, development and growth.

The children we teach in the Early Childhood industry today have the potential to become educators of and advocates for daily sustainable practices if they learn to truly love and appreciate the world we live in.

If those of us whom are in the position to embed the values of true appreciation of nature and the associated knowledge to enable this admiration for nature onto the children of the generation moving through the Early Childhood industry with all of the enthusiasm we posses, we can give the generations that we teach the hope for a better future and the simple steps that we can take to make this possible.

Passion, kindness, compassion, empathy, respect and altruism for the world is fed to children through those who educate them.

Does my foot fit into the shoes of a child?

Nature absolutely soothes my soul and makes me see the world I live in with tender appreciation and admiration. 

Studying to be an Early Childhood Educator has allowed me to connect with nature and to see nature the way a four year old child does, to get as close as I possibly can, to stop and smell the flowers, to notice the different colours of leaves scattered on a path, to notice a creature perched upon a flower and become entranced by wonder of what it is.

Connecting with the children while I learn to be the most supportive, beneficial Educator I can be allows me to attempt to squeeze my foot into their shoes so that I can walk the path they walk, to see the things they see and allow the world to captivate all of me.

I aspire to be the Educator who stands out, who children remember, who brings out the best in all children, who enriches such an important stage in children’s development to enable their potential to be life-long learners curious and inquisitive about their world.

Let’s chat!

I made an e-mail address just for my blog.
So, if you’ve ever felt the desire to write to an electronic pen pal, now’s your chance!

Tell me about your day, or your life, or whatever you fancy.

lechsinska@outlook.com

I’d love to hear from you!

“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend. “
Albert Camus

Time will change us.

They say that people never change, I disagree, I believe that we can change.
I refuse to believe that I am exactly the same person I was a year ago, and I absolutely, undoubtedly oppose the notion that I am the same person I was five years ago.

“You can’t fail. The further you fall, the greater the opportunity for growth and change.”
Julie Newmar

I believe that everything happens to us for a reason, If at first reason and meaning is unclear, time we must wait and clarity will show us the reasons for what happens in life.
With time, comes knowledge, with knowledge, comes understanding.

Life and individual development is not static, it is a progressive journey of which there are ups, downs and everything which happens in-between.
Failure to learn from mistakes and downfalls is a choice, rather than the result of life’s natural consequence.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mahatma Gandhi

Live long and prosper
xo – Asha

Curiosity killed the cat.

“Curiosity killed the cat!”
I remember being told this a few times growing up in response to my questions of ‘why?’ about anything and everything which filled me with the intense wonder which is natural in childhood.

When I work with children in the Kindergarten the question ‘why?’ is a regular one and one which I always do my best to embrace.
I often don’t know the answer to all of their questions, but the best thing about children is that they love to discover the answer with you or to proclaim their own answer to their question.
I do my best to embrace the children’s inquisitive nature because their love of learning and their desire to understand the world they live in is just one of the reasons why I adore children!

As we become distracted by the duties and stresses of adulthood, or even, sadly, childhood and teenage years, we can so easily lose this desire to understand our world and all which it contains. If not lost, it is pushed aside, because adulthood simply does not leave time for such curiosity to be explored, especially not thoroughly explored.

Working with children encourages me as an adult to allow time for curiosity and enriches my desire to find answers for the questions which leave me perplexed and to challenge, extend on and refine my existing knowledge.

“Tell me and I forget, 
Teach me and I may remember, 
Involve me and I learn.”
-Benjamin Franklin. 

I embrace and encourage children’s curious nature in hopes to foster a love for learning which lasts a lifetime.

When you enquire about the scientific nitty-gritty of how we as human beings learn – it is astounding!  The physical capacity to learn new things in the early years of life is far greater than in adulthood.
We should make the most of this! This does not mean bombarding children with facts in a classroom and assessing their ability to regurgitate these in a test – no – the way to encourage people to be life long learners is to embrace their questions of ‘why’ with appreciation and wonder, to empower children to hypothesise and seek-out the answers for themselves. The true appreciation for learning is a value which is beneficial for a lifetime.

As adults, we build on, refine and alter our existing knowledge to make room for and comprehend new information – but, for children, everything is new information!
The phrase “children are sponges for information” is the most common statement I hear when discussing Education in the context of Early Childhood – this statement is also one of the truest.
Children absorb more than we can even imagine, from their environment, which is why I absolutely, wholeheartedly believe that the question ‘why?’ should be embraced, especially in childhood – but also, throughout life.

“The capacity to learn is a gift;
The ability to learn is a skill; 
The willingness to learn is a choice.”
-Brian Herbert. 

Live long and prosper.
xo -Asha.

A Peaceful Day Off

Now that I’ve finished my first placement for Early Childhood Education and Care, and my classes are finished for the semester, I’m planning to take some time for myself for a few weeks – Until the next semester starts. I still have to work, but I want to..more to the point…I need to recharge my batteries.

We live in such a beautiful part of the world, and I’m glad that I have the opportunity to take advantage of this privilege and to experience it, because when I’m surrounded by nature, all my troubles subside – especially when I can experience such beautiful places with my darling man.

Spending some time with my beautiful Fiance’ today during a hike through the National Park close to us was a wonderful way to spend our day off together. We are building stronger as a couple all the time, and I’ve never felt so relaxed and comfortable around another human being before in my entire life, hence why I intend to spend the rest of my life with this man.

After struggling with myself for a little while, I feel as if i’m gaining control again and I feel fulfilled, content and excited about life.

 

-Live Long and Prosper.
xo Asha.

Somebody That I Used to Know.

Although there are people in my life who I am very glad are in the past it persists to ache that people who affected significant portions of my life no longer exist within my life on any level. That after all the time and energy put into relationships, People can simply forget about your existence, treating you as a complete stranger.
I suppose this can be viewed in one of two ways; The first is that they played their part and were only in my life as long as necessary and in order to move forward to the next chapter we must first turn the page and close the book to then move on to the next, leaving all that is contained within that past book behind us. The other is painful to process…it makes me wonder why people play such extensive rolls in our lives if they are to later not be a part of our lives.
How can we love people (whether as friends or romantic partners) for so long and then just ignore them? Just because we no longer love one another does not mean there should be bitterness. It amazes and frustrates me that after devoting years of care, friendship, love and affection to particular people that they are able to simply ignore my existence, stroll past me and look the other way as if i’m another stranger in the supermarket.

Where did April go?

Life has been exceptionally busy, so I’m relying on nature’s gifts to ease my stressed mindThese are two new additions to my little garden, they’re settling in beautifully and soothing my soul in the meantime.