Inspiration Mondays: Back to School Pledges

A few weeks ago, I blogged about my love of The Vinyl Cafe and the stories by Stuart McLean. Since then, the hubby and I have spent many an evening listening to the podcasts of the program posted by the CBC online. I'm usually down on my yoga mat stretching, and sometimes, the stretch is interrupted by my chuckles or downright laughter.

Last night, we listened to Stuart talking about the first day of school, and about the day he walked to school with a little girl, and how the grade one classroom had a pledge on the wall to the state of Texas. He wondered what he would do if he were to write his own Pledge of Allegiance. Being Canadian, this is not part of my school memory, so I listened intently.

And the words that resounded with me were:

I pledge my allegiance to truth, under whatever flag it flies, for I know no one holds all truth. And I pledge my allegiance to kindness wherever I see it and understanding whenever it comes. I pledge my allegiance to sharing and hopefulness, and to speaking softly, and to love when I feel it, and to hope when I don’t.

And that's because I am often exhausted by drama, however necessary or not, and the never-ending war over who has the right to say what truth is. I am exhilarated by hopefulness, and saddened when I meet people who cannot see the power of hope.

Because without hope, what's the point?

Anyway, I found a YouTube video where you can listen for yourself. Whether or not you are returning to school, or if you're just returning to work after the long weekend, it's worth a listen. For me, it helped to reset my mind for the workplace, and to ready myself for another school year. I hope it does something similar for you...