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| Morning Star by Alex Janvier (Photographed at the Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa, Canada) |
The year is drawing to a close and we will soon start a new year and a new circle of our life. The circle is symbolic in many ways and is a cultural, religious but more importantly, a human imagery. A circle represents the sun and the earth and the passage of time and seasons.
To me, a circle is a metaphor for both life and learning. When our ancestors discovered fire and sat around it to share their knowledge and wisdom, that is when this universal symbol of learning was perhaps born.
The circle represents wholeness and completeness. The center of the circle is filled with trust and openness. And while the rim is flexible, it stays protective of that what is inside; the core of the circle. There is no hierarchy in a circle because the shape equalizes everyone. A circle is a keeper of democracy and of relationships and intimacy. It represents a journey but one that has no beginning or end and in that respect, a circle is in a continuous process of being. The circle in its true form represents infinity and potential. And all these qualities are true for life and for learning.
As the year draws to a close, I am reminded of the value of my own circle. I am thinking and reflecting about that what is at the core of my own circle; what fills the inside and what pushes the boundary everyday. I am thinking about the relationships that mean the most to me in this circle and the give and take and the ebb and flow. I am pondering about who is it that am I becoming in this process of being created constantly. In answering these questions, I am flexing the rim of my existing circle to expand it just a little more...
“Life is a full circle, widening until it joins the circle motions of the infinite.”
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