Emergence

The floods have lifted up, O LORD,

the floods have lifted up their voice;

the floods have lifted up their roaring.

Mightier than the thunders of many waters,

mightier than the waves of the sea,

the LORD on high is mighty!

Ps 93:3-4 (ESV)

It's nice to have sharp students. But a teacher must take the blunt in stride as well, remembering that both knives and mallets may well serve their purpose. Above all, don't give up.

Everyone wants to be that teacher who taught this great person or that. Who wants to teach students who will never amount to anything, who will attain neither wealth nor fame? Yet it is these teachers whom eternity will applaud, because they dared to go where no one else would have dreamt of.

This butterfly was drying its wings the morning of Teacher's Day, on the 'dark side' of the pot on which Ryan usually rubs his snout. I couldn't help but feel it was a gift to all of us—a reminder that some things take time, and that we ought to persevere against all odds.

Here's to the million butterflies we never see emerging.

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On a separate note, my Henri Cartier-Bresson and Raghu Rai books have arrived over the last few days!