Morning Meditation

Morning Meditation

by Jean Lee

As I wake up to the darkness of silence in the early hours,

Only the woodnote peacefully dilutes the serenity from the bowers.

Imagining countless droopy eyes out there,

I mumble to myself “Let’s live it up as loud as we dare!”

World news from the radio would make a lot of velitations.

Allowing the noise in our lives would take so much patience.

Turn the volume down.

So the voice of your heart and soul won’t drown.

No greetings or friendly faces in sight.

Same old footsteps of mine follow me in delight.

Another day, another night, ….and another day is here.

Still smudged with yesterday’s color that doesn’t disappear.

Although it might not be viewed as a wholesome whole,

Your today is building a bridge of hope on which you’ll stroll.

Keep smiling until all your concerns and wounds come to halve.

Say your prayers until the flowers in your garden become a salve.

Words to Live By

No matter where we are or how we live, life goes on. Some may say “YOLO, so enjoy every minute of your life to the max!”, and others may argue “Do your best in whatever you do and search for great cause beyond your ken in life. Do not waste your life being irresponsible”. Some may be purse-proud and focusing only on their own prosperity throughout their lives, and others may uphold philanthropic spirit. Some may have sleepless nights due to carking anxiety or doubts, and others may be interested in merrymaking all the time and not care about anything in the world. Which modus vivendi belongs to you? his week, I would like to share some golden words to live by.

(source from https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/life)

Expressions

YOLO: (phrase) You Only Live Once

ken: (noun) Understanding or cognizance; mental perception

purse-proud: (adjective) proud of one's wealth, especially in an arrogant or showy manner

philanthropic: (adjective) seeking to promote the welfare of others, especially by donating money to good causes; generous and benevolent.

carking: (adjective) causing distress or worry

merrymaking: (noun) the process of enjoying oneself with others, especially by dancing and drinking.

modus vivendi: (phrase) way of living

  1.   “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” …… Joseph Campbell

  2.   “There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why.”………….. William Barclay

  3.   “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”……. Buddha

  4.   “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”………. Albert Einstein

  5.   “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”……….Maya Angelou

  6.   “To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.”……….. Reba McEntire

  7.   “God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.”………. Voltaire

  8.   “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”…… John Dewey

  9.   “Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”………..Steve Jobs

  10. “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”…….George Bernard Shaw

  11.    Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”……….. Confucius

  12.     “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”………….. Pablo Picasso

  13.  “The greatest pleasure of life is love.”………… Euripides

  14.  “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”………… Winston Churchill

Idioms Related to a New Beginning

What’s the biggest obstacle in your journey of exploring English? It could be grammar, pronunciation, or huge amount of vocabulary that seems to be endless. Above all, idiomatic expressions that have hidden, figurative meanings. Without understanding the cultural background or conventional usage of idioms, one can hardly imagine what those words are supposed to mean.

Using the given list of idioms (that are related to ‘a new beginning’) and your imagination, try to choose a proper expression to fill in the blank of each sentence below. (source from https://www.spellzone.com/blog/post.cfm?title=Twenty_Idioms_for_New_Beginnings)

a a.   new blood: new members of a group (who usually bring with them fresh ideas about how the group might run)

   b.   to blow away the cobwebs: to refresh yourself from a state of sluggishness.

c  c.    a new lease of life: an occasion or circumstance that leads you to becoming more energetic than you were previously

   d.   to quit cold turkey: to abruptly and completely give something up (i.e. drugs, alcohol, caffeine)

   e.   to blaze a trail: to innovate in a particular field and thus lead the way for others.

f  f.    at a /the crossroads: at the point where you must make the choice between two courses of action with diverging consequences

   g.   to go or be back to square one: to acknowledge that an idea has been unsuccessful and that you will need to come up with a new one

   h.   to make a clean breast of it: to admit to your mistakes/ to confess completely

<1> In any field of work, we need someone who has the courage to ______________________________________ so that people could follow or benchmark at their own pace.

<2> _____________________ can sometimes show you the way that existing people may not see. That is why my team manager wants to use this rookie to break mannerism in their projects.

<3> Today we see a lot of victims of sexual harassment or violence step up and let their voice heard in public. It is time for the sexual criminals to ________________________________ all.

<4> Eddy has been a heavy drinker for years, but he wanted to change his life one day. He quit alcohol '___________________,' and started to work out every day.

<5> Spring is in the air!!! We’ve been staying cooped up, being a potato couch all winter long. Now is the perfect time to go outside and _________________________________ !

<6> Another relationship went down the tubes! Ugh! I’m back to ______________________________ yet again.

<7> Since her artificial knee replacement surgery, she's had a __________________________. Now she’s even considering signing up for a Zoomba class at her local gym.

<8> Jess is standing at ______________________ as to what to do in this critical situation.

<Answer Keys>

  1.   blaze a trail

  2.   new blood

  3.   make a clean breast of it

  4.   cold turkey

  5.   blow away the cobwebs

  6.   square one

  7.   lease of life

  8.   a/ the crossroads

Thoughts on language assessment ethics

The ‘Language Assessment Ethics Conference’ back in my M.A.TESOL days has always been in my mind, which provided the opportunity to ponder upon ethical theory in professional fields including education. As Dr. Kunnan mentioned in the introduction session of that conference, the world has been suffering from lack of ethical principles in a variety of fields. His remarks prompted me to think of all the innocent victims from 9-11 attack in 2001 and the constant retaliation, human cloning as well as organ donation as one of the most recent issues concerned with ethics and morality.

As an English educator, I agree to the fact that the development of ethical principles in education (especially in the language assessment area) has retarded compared to the speed of the proliferation. I’ve always thought that it is one thing to have a grasp of the principles of second/ foreign language learning and teaching, and another to creatively formulate specific hypotheses about language learning in particular contexts and to garner empirical support for these hypotheses. That support can be gathered by means of careful measurement of the language competence of learners in given situations. That is, our theory of second language acquisition can be put into practice everyday in the classroom, but we will never know how valid our theory is unless our learners’ success is systematically measured in ethical way. Although a drastical change or innovation in the language assessment may not be demanded or expected, a thorough examination on ethics can be the next step the educators need to take for the present.

In the present world where morality and ethical thoughts are gradually losing their grounds by whited sepulchers, it is important for all the practioners in each profession to find out the relationship between philosophical ethics and professional responsibility. The major goal of education lies in the pursuit of helping individuals reach what they need to be the owner of their lives. Dr. Sharon Bishop claimed that acquiring a certain set of skills demanded by general standardized tests bear little meaning on the part of test developers as well as test users. The ethical rules are urged to consider the meaningful connection with unfamiliar context that people will face in their profession instead of simply providing the general principles or code of conduct.

With the above thoughts in mind, some questions came to me, which could halp us relate the principles to language testing practice and our profession. The questions were whether or not our actions/ decisions in the field of education reflect utilitarianism or Kantian ethics of morality. I personally came to think about my own students in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classes that I used to teach back in Korea. Sometimes they might not have known what is being tested when they tackle a test. They might have felt, for a variety of reasons, that a test isn’t testing what it is “supposed” to test. In other words, the tests might not have been carefully constructed or in the well-thought out formats.

As shown in Kantian ethics, one exclusive ruling government is not desirable because it will compromise individual person’s freedom and dignity. In this respect, I agree to the following idea proposed by Dr. Antony Kunnan (my professor at the MATESOL program at my alma mater, Cal State Univ, LA). He asserted that more concerted efforts should be made, in the field of language assessment, to come up with a transnational language testing that will be able to connect global ethics to local ground of ethics. In other words, it is our aspiration and responsibility to build a well-balanced language assessment ethics that allows us to understand who the testees are, what their experiences are, and how the scores are interpreted for individuals.

Let's Solve a Crossword Puzzle with Midaged Health terms!

Fill in the following puzzle using the terms given in the word banks below.

Glossary for Midaged Women's and Men's Health

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Across 6 Name of the male sex hormone, which is the hormone responsible for the development of male sexual characteristics. One word. "Male menopause" is sometimes described as a condition referred to as low ________________________. 8 One word. What is the period in a woman's life (typically between 45 and 50 years of age) when this occurs? 9 A doctor who specializes in the care and health of the female reproductive organs. 10 One alphabet letter. Getting enough vitamin _____ is also critical for protecting your bones during menopause. It comes from the sun, but many experts say it’s vital for women’s health to take it as a supplement to ensure they are getting enough, especially in winter and in non-sunny climates. 11 One word. This seed is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae, which is a food and fiber crop cultivated in cooler regions of the world. _________________________ is a wonderful plant-based food with omega-3 fatty acids. Try sprinkling ground ___________________ on cereal, yogurt, and salads; it adds fiber to your diet, keeps your arteries healthy, and has some estrogen-like compounds.

Down 1 One word. Changing hormone levels during menopause and midlife can increase the risk for ______________________ in women. Emotional symptoms related to menopause can include anxiety, fears, and mood swings. 2 One word. ___________________________ is a female disease in which endometrial-like tissue is found outside of the uterus in other parts of the body. 3 One word. Bone loss in the mid-age can cause this condition that increases the risk of bone fractures. What is this medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue, typically as a result of hormonal changes, or deficiency of calcium or vitamin D? 4 Two words with no space (in plural form). This is a feeling of warmth in the face that spreads over the body, lasting from around 30 seconds to a few minutes. Reddened skin, palpitations (feeling a strong heartbeat), and sweating are accompanied. 5 One word (in plural form). What do you call the excess Estrogen taken into the body from outside sources (such as meat that has been injected with hormones and pesticides) to which our body reacts to as natural estrogen? 7 ________________________ dominance is not limited to women; Men can also have an increase of this hormone through environmental sources, which would increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Word Bank

Endometriosis	D	hotflashes	flaxseed
menopause	depression	Osteoporosis	Gynecologist
Testosterone	xenoestrogens	estrogen

Answer Keys:
Across
6. Testosterone
8. menopause
9. Gynecologist
10. D
11. flaxseed

Down
1. depression
2. Endometriosis
3. Osteoporosis
4. hotflashes
5. xenoestrogens
7. estrogen