Welcome, January! :)

Hello everyone –

The New Year MMXVII has arrived, bringing a renewed blast of winter cold and snow to the Midwest. To ring in the new month of January, here are a couple of poems – and a Disney song, too! :)

“Picture-Books in Winter”

By Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

From A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885)

Summer fading, winter comes—

Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs,

Window robins, winter rooks,

And the picture story-books.

Water now is turned to stone

Nurse and I can walk upon;

Still we find the flowing brooks

In the picture story-books.

All the pretty things put by,

Wait upon the children’s eye,

Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks,

In the picture story-books.

We may see how all things are

Seas and cities, near and far,

And the flying fairies’ looks,

In the picture story-books.

How am I to sing your praise,

Happy chimney-corner days,

Sitting safe in nursery nooks,

Reading picture story-books?

“A Calendar of Sonnets: January”

By Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885)

O Winter! frozen pulse and heart of fire,

What loss is theirs who from thy kingdom turn

Dismayed, and think thy snow a sculptured urn

Of death! Far sooner in midsummer tire

The streams than under ice. June could not hire

Her roses to forego the strength they learn

In sleeping on thy breast. No fires can burn

The bridges thou dost lay where men desire

In vain to build. O Heart, when Love's sun goes

To northward, and the sounds of singing cease,

Keep warm by inner fires, and rest in peace.

Sleep on content, as sleeps the patient rose.

Walk boldly on the white untrodden snows,

The winter is the winter's own release.

“Frozen Heart”

From Disney’s FROZEN (2013)

Born of cold and winter air
and mountain rain combining.
This icy force both foul and fair
has a frozen heart worth mining.

So cut through the heart, cold and clear.
Strike for love and strike for fear.
See the beauty, sharp and sheer
Split the ice apart
And break the frozen heart!

Hup! Ho!
Watch your step!
Let it go!

Hup! Ho!
Watch your step!
Let it go!

Beautiful!

Powerful!
Dangerous!
Cold!

Ice has a magic,
can't be controlled.
Stronger than one, stronger than ten,
stronger than a hundred men! Ho!

Born of cold and winter air
and mountain rain combining.
This icy force both foul and fair
has a frozen heart worth mining.

Cut through the heart, cold and clear.
Strike for love and strike for fear.
There's beauty and there's danger here
Split the ice apart
Beware the frozen heart...

Until next time – stay warm, and read some picture story-books! Need some reading suggestions? Be sure to visit my friends @ http://ccb.ischool.illinois.edu. :)

Rob

Celebrating the Winter Solstice!

Hello everyone –

For the third and final installment in my holiday Quotemail series, I’d like to share with you an article that I penned for the ACES James Scholars eight years ago. The Winter Solstice arrived @ 4:44 AM (CST) this morning, heralding the shortest day and longest night of the year, and this article explores how the stargazers and mythmakers of antiquity understood and celebrated this pivotal event on their “Wheel of the Year.”

“Seasonal Reflections” by Rob Chappell, M.A., Assistant to the Honors Dean

Adapted & Condensed from Ultreia III: 3-4 (Autumn/Holiday 2008)

            As 2016 draws to a close, people in the Northern Hemisphere of our planet are preparing to celebrate a wide variety of December holidays. Although there are vast differences in these celebrations, which vary by culture, nation, and religion, their overarching themes are quite similar, and most of them are derived from a common astronomical source. Each year as the Winter Solstice (December 21-22) approaches, the days grow shorter and colder, and the Sun’s circular journey across the daytime sky is far lower than it was at the Summer Solstice in June. To the skywatchers of the ancient world, it appeared as if the Sun – the source of growth, light, and warmth – was dying. Then, shortly after the longest night of the year, something amazing happened! The Sun began to rejuvenate and started to climb higher in the sky each day. Eventually, more light and warmth returned to the world, and springtime would invariably arrive several weeks later.

            This annual event – the metaphorical “death and rejuvenation” of the Sun at the Winter Solstice – was definitely something worth celebrating. Human life could go on because the Sun came back from oblivion! Light overcame darkness; warmth banished the cold; hope replaced despair; and life defeated death. Decorating with candles and evergreens became a widespread custom in many nations as people celebrated the return of the Sun’s light and the promise of Nature’s renewal that it brought to the wintry world. These are the themes that the major December holidays of the Northern Hemisphere share in common.

            In African, Asian, and European mythologies, the annual rejuvenation of the Sun was expressed in many symbolic ways. One of the most famous legends related to the Winter Solstice is the tale of the phoenix bird. According to the most widespread tradition, there was only one phoenix alive in the world at any given time. The bird was adorned with beautiful crimson, golden, and violet plumage, and it built its next of spices in the Far East. Every 500 years, the elderly phoenix would burst into flames and die – but from its ashes would arise a new, young phoenix to live for another five centuries. The newborn phoenix, as soon as it could fly, would carry the bones and ashes of its former self to the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis, Egypt, where the priests would note in their chronicles that a new “phoenix cycle” had begun. From an astronomical perspective, the death, immolation, and rebirth of the phoenix could have symbolized the annual cycle of the seasons, in which the Sun “dies” of old age at the Winter Solstice, only to rejuvenate and ascend into the heavens once again with the approach of springtime. 

            As the world awaits the beginning of 2017, we would do well to remember these practical yet profound insights from the skywatchers and mythmakers of antiquity. Empires rise and fall; economies wax and wane; and scientific knowledge continues to increase exponentially. Yet the seasons still come and go on time each year; summer and winter, seedtime and harvest return in their predictable order. The Universe is not a haphazard place, but it is governed by natural laws that allow human life to continue from one generation to the next.

            For me, the core message of all the December holidays is best summed up in this poem by one of my favorite authors, George MacDonald (1824-1905):

The Sun is gone down, and the Moon’s in the sky;

But the Sun will come up, and the Moon be laid by.

The flower is asleep, but it is not dead;

When the morning shines, it will lift its head.

When winter comes, it will die – no, no;

It will only hide from the frost and the snow.

Sure is the summer, sure is the Sun;

The night and the winter are shadows that run.

-- George MacDonald: At the Back of the North Wind (1871), Chapter 37

Quotemail will resume its regular publication schedule on Friday, January 6^th, 2017. In the meantime, may the calendar keep bringing Happy Holidays to you! :)

Rob

“Take and read out from the lapis lazuli tablet how Gilgamesh went through every hardship. He walked through darkness and so glimpsed the light.”

-- The Epic of Gilgamesh: Compiled ca. 2000 BCE in Mesopotamia

The Most Famous Reindeer of All

Hello everyone –

Some longtime subscribers may have seen this essay before, while more recent subscribers may not have had the chance to read this nine-year-old reflection of mine about leadership, the Yuletide season, and much more. Whether it’s new or old to you, I hope you enjoy taking a journey with me down Memory Lane with “the most famous reindeer of all.” :)

Overcoming Limitations with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Author’s Note: This essay first appeared as my Presidential column in the Secretariat’s newsletter for December 2007. It has also appeared in previous December issues of the Secretariat’s newsletter, and I have also reprinted it on my blog at http://rhcfortnightlyquotemail.blogspot.com, in a slightly revised and expanded form, because of its ongoing relevance, as the University of Illinois continues to move forward with campuswide initiatives to promote diversity, inclusivity, and leadership studies (hegemontology).

          As far back as I can remember, one of my favorite Yuletide stories has always been the heroic tale of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which is based on a poem of the same name by Robert L. May from 1939. Rudolph, you may recall, was born “different” from “all of the other reindeer.” His nose glowed red, and as he was growing up, his youthful peers never let him forget it. He was excluded from the others’ reindeer games because he wasn’t “normal” like everyone else. We all know, of course, that the story had a happy ending. Because of his uniquely talented “nose so bright,” Rudolph was able to lead Santa Claus’ gift-giving expedition around the world on a foggy midwinter night. Thus, what had made Rudolph “different” and had caused his exclusion when he was growing up allowed him to become a hero to children all over the world.

          All of us are born “different” from each other; there are no two people in this world who are exactly alike. We all have limitations of one kind or another – visible or invisible – that we need to overcome if we are to lead healthy, balanced lives. Overcoming our own limitations is not easy – but nothing worthwhile ever is. Overcoming limitations, though, is only half the story. Like Rudolph, we need to share our talents with others and help them to overcome their own limitations in turn. Reaching out to others who are “different” from “us,” or to people who have been excluded or marginalized for whatever reason, is a core value of every worthwhile philosophy of life, and it is also a key ingredient in all the major spiritual traditions of the world. We need to teach ourselves to look at the people around us with the “eyes of the heart,” looking beyond outward appearances to perceive the magnificence of the human spirit within us all. As one of my younger cousins wrote to me in an email message a few years ago:

“Sight doesn’t define vision. Eyes of the heart will see far beyond any physical force.” :)

          Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was such an appealing character to me during my childhood days because I also had a limitation to overcome – low vision. I had been born with congenital glaucoma in both eyes and had several surgeries before my third birthday, through which my ophthalmologist managed to recover about 5%-10% of normal vision for me. I was the first student with any kind of disability to pass through my elementary, middle, and high schools, and I had somewhat “different” ways of learning than the other children used. I had textbooks in large print and on cassette tapes, I wrote out my assignments in big letters on black-lined notebook paper, and I was one of the few students in my class who wore glasses from kindergarten onward. These things, on occasion, might have caused a momentary misunderstanding with my youthful peers – but by and large, I was very blessed indeed. Unlike Rudolph, I had a circle of loyal friends, understanding teachers, and a very supportive family to encourage me along the way. Sometimes it takes the encouragement and support of others to show us how uniquely gifted we really are and that being “different” is “AOK.” J

          Rudolph’s “limitation” – not having a “normal” nose – actually turned out to be an unexpected advantage when he grew up. In a similar way, we all have talents buried deep down inside us that can help us to shed a ray of sunshine on the people around us and “bloom where we’re planted.” Some of us may have a talent for encouraging others when they’re having a bad day, while others may have gifts to share through artwork, teaching, or writing. Whatever your talent may be, I encourage you to cultivate it and share it with others – whether it be in the workplace, at home, or anywhere else you happen to find yourself on a regular basis.

          In closing, I would like to share with you some words of wisdom from my maternal grandmother’s favorite Yuletide novella – The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum (1902). This classic tale is for “children of all ages,” not only because it tells an enchanting story, but also because it encourages us to share our time, talents, and treasures with others to make this world a better place to live in.

·         “Everything perishes except the world itself and its keepers. But while life lasts, everything on Earth has its use. The wise seek ways to be helpful to the world, for the helpful ones are sure to live again. … Yet every man has his mission, which is to leave the world better, in some way, than he found it” (Book 1, Chapters 6 & 7).

·         “[Santa Claus] brought toys to the children because they were little and helpless, and because he loved them. He knew that the best of children were sometimes naughty, and that the naughty ones were often good. It is the way with children, the world over, and he would not have changed their natures had he possessed the power to do so.  And that is how our Claus became Santa Claus. It is possible for any man, by good deeds, to enshrine himself as a Saint in the hearts of the people” (Book 2, Chapter 9).

·         “It is true that great warriors and mighty kings and clever scholars of that day were often spoken of by the people; but no one of them was so greatly beloved as Santa Claus, because none other was so unselfish as to devote himself to making others happy. For a generous deed lives longer than a great battle or a king’s decree or a scholar’s essay, because it spreads and leaves its mark on all nature and endures through many generations” (Book 2, Chapter 11).

·         “‘In all this world there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child,’ says good old Santa Claus; and if he had his way, the children would all be beautiful, for all would be happy” (Book 3, Chapter 3).

          Best wishes to you and your families for a relaxing and enjoyable Yuletide season!

T minus 5 days and counting until the Winter Solstice and the final Quotemail of 2016 – stay tuned! :)

Rob