Tao of a Silly Old Bear, Monday, Period Two

[uncertain_dume]

Today's class was told to meet outside, to take advantage of the decent weather, and were given directions to meet at the park. Kanan was standing in the shade under one of the larger trees, not far from the pond, and was smiling a little to himself. This was introduction week. However else he might have felt about having a philosophy class shunted off on him, he was generally pretty confident in his ability to do introductions without having to worry about too much disaster.

"Hey, folks," he greeted, nodding at his class. "Welcome to... this class about Taoism." A pause. "And occasional stuffed bears. Most of you have already had a class with me before," he nodded to the students in question, "but for those of you who haven't, I'm Kanan Jarrus. Please, just call me Kanan. I'm not a professor, I'm a guy who flipped through a book and spent a few minutes contemplating what's in it, and now I'm passing it to you."

Yes, he was absolutely holding up his copy of the book in question, a well-read paperback with a cream-colored cover with a red border, the picture of a little yellow bear flying a kite on the front.

"For this workshop, we're going to discuss the Earth philosophy of Taoism. I'm not certain if any of you recognize the bear on the cover of the book, but... yeah, we're gonna talk a little bit about him, too, if only because the adventures of this children's storybook character pose very convenient parallels to the topic in question. So if you're in this class just to hear me say phrases like, 'Silly willy nilly old bear,' and 'Oh, bother,' you might not even be disappointed." He shrugged. "This week, though, we're not going to touch much on the bear in question. This week is a week for explaining Taoism in broad strokes, so that you have some idea of what you've just gotten yourself into. Taoism is, at its core, a philosophy that emphasizes doing what comes natural, following the guidance and flow of a cosmic force that flows through all things. Binds them and releases them."

... Yeah, it had caught his attention for possibly obvious reasons, if you knew anything about his upbringing at all.

"So, this term, we're going to do a lot of that. Going with the flow. Not trying to force things to be what they aren't, but rather, trying to accept and work with them as they are. And, since this is the first week of classes, going with the flow means introductions." Kanan grinned faintly. "Names, why you took this class, and, if you feel so inclined, share with us some aspect of your own personal philosophy or your first impressions of Taoism, based on today's lecture."

Comments

Sign In!

[uncertain_dume]

Going with the flow!

Re: Sign In!

[unusual_sith]

Lana Beniko

Re: Sign In!

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina

Re: Sign In!

[following_my_fishie]

Del and Barnabas!

Lecture!

[uncertain_dume]

Make yourselves comfortable on the grass, in the shade, in the sunshine, standing up or sitting down. Follow your inner nature.

Re: Lecture!

[unusual_sith]

Lana knelt on the grass; this was a much more familiar class posture than sitting in chairs.

Re: Lecture!

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina sat primly on the grass under a tree, her back against the bark of the tree trunk and her feet tucked demurely under her skirts.

Re: Lecture!

[following_my_fishie]

Del climbed up onto a tree branch and hung upside down from her knees to listen to the lecture.

Re: Lecture!

[intotheout]

Tip stretched out on the grass in the sun, propping herself up on her hands, and wondered if Kanan planned to host class outside when it rained, too.

Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

Name, why you're in this class, and either your personal philosophy or your first impression of Taoism, based on what Kanan described it as today!

Re: Introductions!

[unusual_sith]

"I'm Lana Beniko." She nodded to Kanan. "And I'm in this class because you're teaching it, and I'm always interested in learning from people with your philosophy."

Look at her being tactful on the first day of class with newbies!

"My own personal philosophy sounds very much like Taoism, though I imagine the similarities don't go too deep."

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

"But at the surface, pretty familiar," Kanan agreed, smiling faintly. "I'm curious to see how deep the similarities do run. Whether your philosophy and mine, when seen through a Taoist filter, continue to be two sides of the same coin."

Re: Introductions!

[bookbeltof_love]

"I'm, like, Nina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Her grin was definitely impish as she directed it at Kanan. "And I guess I took this class because, well, I just had to see what sort of philosophy a grumpy bus driver taught!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Points, er, for honesty, at least?

"Going with the flow, though... like, I think I'm either really good at that or really bad at it??????????????"

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

To Kanan's credit, his only real reaction to that 'grumpy bus driver' comment was a soft snort and a roll of his eyes skyward.

"Good or bad at it? How do you figure?"

Re: Introductions!

[following_my_fishie]

Del listened from her position, hanging upside down from the tree branch. She looked vaguely at the other students. When it was her term, Barnabas stood on his hind legs, forepaws pressed to the bark of the tree, and licked her face to bring her back to focus.

Delirium giggled and wiped her face. "Oh. Um. Hi? I'm Delirium. Um. I like the Hundred Acre Woods. It's a nice place. The Silly Old Bear and his friends all make space for the sad donkey even when he's floating in rivers on his back and they're always nice to him even when he's sad because they don't want him to be sad but they know that's just how he is so they let him be how he is without making him feel bad or that he should be something he's not and they love him anyway just exactly how he is. And that's Taoism."

Beat.

"Oh! And this is Barnabas."

Barnabas inclined his head, "Hello. I am the Lady Delirium's service dog."

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

"A pleasure to have you here, Delirium, Barnabas," Kanan said, nodding to each in turn. "And yeah, that's going to be pretty much a whole class on its own. We might drop sticks into a river that day, I haven't decided yet."

There was a thoughtful pause, and then he added, "You already seem to have a pretty good handle on what this class is about."

Re: Introductions!

[intotheout]

Tip waved her hand. "I'm Gratuity Tucci. Most people call me 'Tip'. I'm admittedly here because this sounded nicer than trying to kill each other over poker." Sorry, Anakin. "But I'm also just curious about non-Western religions and philosophical traditions. Taoism sounds. . . ." Very familiar, after learning swordcraft from Kanan. ". . . Like it could be useful. Though not so much if 'the flow' you're trying to go with is, say, a totalitarian regime that denies basic human rights."

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

"Oh, trust me, that regime is very much against the flow," Kanan replied, mouth pulling up on one side a little wryly. "It isn't about doing nothing, it's more about understanding and moving forward, toward the way things are meant to be."

Re: Introductions!

[seriesofbaddecisions]

"Sabine. I'm in it because I take all your classes."

And if it sounded like she wanted to ask a question, like 'did you hit your head recently,' well. She did.

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan, meanwhile, looked faintly like he was trying not to laugh, so at least there was that.

"I imagine this one is going to be a little different from the rest," he noted. "Not likely to be much shooting in the Tao class, I'm afraid."

Re: Introductions!

[mylandmyrules]

"I'm Nell Ingram," she said. "I kind of got assigned to this class I guess, but it sounds like you-un have some very nice things to share, so I'm happy to hear more about them."

Re: Introductions!

[uncertain_dume]

"Well, welcome aboard, Nell," Kanan said, giving her a little nod and a smile. "Hopefully you find something worth learning in all of this. Even if it's just, 'going with the flow doesn't mean not working to change things for the better.'"

Which he said only because this was lesson one and he'd already had to explain that at least twice, help.

Talk to Kanan!

[uncertain_dume]

He's here if you need him, just kind of rolling with it.

Re: Talk to Kanan!

[seriesofbaddecisions]

And after class, Sabine had to come over.

"Okay. Seriously. What."

OOC!

[uncertain_dume]

I want a nap.