Courtesy of Sandy Beach website!
I started the first lesson of Sparky and Shady at Sandy Beach Primary School today with Yrs 5 and 6 – it was awesome, I am so doing my thing! Anyway, I told the kids about how I first discovered Sparky and since it is a blog post day, I figured I would tell you too, so here goes…
I met Sparky between 15 and 20 years ago when I was working as an Itinerant Support Teacher for Behaviour in schools in the Coffs Harbour area doing my usual weekly visit to support a Yr 3 child who had trouble managing his behaviour and feelings. When I got there the class teacher asked me to take the child (let’s call him ‘Sam’) outside to work with me because he had had a ‘bad morning’. Sam’s bad morning included yelling, swearing and throwing a chair across the room.
My timing was ‘perfect’ because Sam was not welcome in the classroom, he refused to go to the office and his mother was not answering the phone. When I walked outside with Sam I asked him if he wanted to sit at one of the outside lunch tables with me to do a ‘fun’ worksheet.
You can probably guess that Sam wasn’t keen. Instead his response was to swear at me and to tell me that I couldn’t ‘make him’ do anything and that he didn’t have to do what I said because I wasn’t in charge of him.
Sam then proceeded to pick up a big stick and whack some trees with it, before walking down into the playground where he whacked the back fence of the school repeatedly.
I knew better than to follow him, so I sat at the lunch table by myself, put my head in my hands, closed my eyes and asked myself, “How on earth can I help this kid?”
In response to this question, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment well up inside me before it moved throughout my whole body. I felt so content, peaceful and full of love that I knew everything would be okay no matter what happened.
I sat at the table for a little while longer feeling a few tears trickle down my cheek and when I opened my eyes I saw Sam staring at me from the other side of the table.
Sam asked, “Did you bring your handball?” To which I replied, “Yes” and then he said, “Okay I challenge you to a rally.” So for the next 15 minutes we played handball happily together and neither he nor I mentioned his previous behaviour.
When the lunch bell rang, Sam and I walked back to class and Sam apologised to his teacher for his behaviour (without me telling him to) and also said that he knew he was in the reflection (or detention) room for lunch.
Yes, I was dumbstruck by Sam’s cooperation, but I was more dumbstruck by the feelings of peace, contentment and love I experienced after I asked, “How can I help this kid?”
Since that day I have often wondered bow I lived for decades not knowing about the inner loving presence that exists within me and for that matter within all of us?
If you don’t believe that this inner peace exists or you haven’t experienced it for yourself then close your eyes (after you’ve read the instructions!) and get Sparky to show you exactly what I mean by asking, “Sparky can you prove that you are real by making me feel love and peace inside me please?”
Pretty cool hey?
Sparky and Shady is not about religion. No matter what your religious or spiritual beliefs (or lack of them) it is a FACT that you have direct access to the loving, wise and peaceful inner power within you simply by making yourself aware of it!
Now you know about it (or have been reminded of it) enjoy it! You can never have too much love, peace and happiness in your life!
Love Kathy
PS After School Classes start next week on Wed if you are interested, come along and learn a whole heap of other cool things Sparky can help you with in life! sparkyandshady.com/classes