Wallow: to roll oneself about in a lazy, relaxed, or ungainly manner (e.g. hogs wallowing in the mud). As I visualize myself roll about and somersault in the complexity of writing, teaching, and busy PhD life, I see the possibility of delightful self-abandonment and a Zen-like non-resistance and immersion. But to turn stress into ease, assignment into enjoyment often requires optimism and certain way of thinking that in turn requires discipline and practice.
Boice’s active waiting, which is based on the idea of “make haste slowly (--Nicolas Boileau),” seems to be a good principle to remember and put into practice, especially when one is overwhelmed with complexity—when too much complexity needs to be tempered into a manageable amount of complexity. Practically speaking, active waiting involves doing bits and pieces of preparation for teaching (or more broadly, other things one feels stressed about and wants to procrastinate on) during lulls in other activities. It doesn’t sound alien; actually it’s something I’ve already been doing, though more out of necessity than an active and pleasant design for getting things done.
Of all the exercises that Boice suggests for us to master active waiting, I find Exercise 6 extremely wise—“Use pause to relax and contemplate but not to worry.” It’s putting yoga practice into classroom; it’s to be aware of one’s breath, to be centered and reflective, to create silence as an extension of thoughts and as a space for new air/thoughts to flow in. So that complexity is not a whirlpool but a breezy lake, and wallowing in it will refresh, not drown.
I was a bit concerned when Boice suggested using breath during pauses in a classroom. For me, I could understand using this method during an active waiting period outside the classroom, during preparations, but in the classroom setting I think it would be a risk in rapport with students.
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