Re: e-mail tutoring -Reply

[DENISE DILWORTH <DILWORTH@smtp.munet.edu>]

Bobbie,

I just read your post about your aunt. First, my condolences. Second,
I'd like to briefly share an experience of my own:

I recently lost my dear friend and mentor--Jackie--who was a driven
and dedicated scholar and teacher.  She died while on sabbatical in
Poland.

Jackie was a caring, almost selfless professional.  She was born with
bad health and was very impatient with her body's limitations. Her
spirit was so strong, her intellect so lively, her heart so open and
giving that she seemed invincible.

Jackie died from complications from a bad case of the flu. In fact,
she was badly dehydrated--there were not enough electrolytes in her
to keep her heart going. Jackie hated going to the doctor for a
number of reasons, but a large part of her feelings had to do with
bowing to physical weakness. As I mentioned above, she was very
impatient with her body's weakness. She felt that she should be able
to overcome her various illnesses through force of will and strength
of determination. Usually, she did. This time, she did not. She died
because she would not listen to her body. 

Your aunt's life and the passage you quoted from Kornfield
demonstrate that our bodies are not something separate from who and
what we are--they are inextricably joined. Jackie has taught me that
the divisions we make between body, mind, and spirit--against which
Kornfield writes (Beautiful: "this precious animal body)--can be
dangerous as well as reductive.

The implications for cyberspace? Well, I think that you and Frankie
Condon are probably right: We must be careful about the ways we use
cyberspace and the ways in which we "construct" ourselves in
cyberspace. We are *not* disembodied minds or spirits. And we can't
really separate ourselves from the physical and the
cultural/psychological (and whatever else) outcomes of that physical
reality. As you indicated, accepting/living with pain and physical
limitations shaped your aunt. Not accepting/living with her physical
self killed one of the most brilliant, caring, wonderful people I
will ever have the pleasure to call friend. Not acknowledging the
physical, the cultural, the contextual in our online students may be
dangerous in a different way: We may forget what we represent and
feel that that kind of interaction is apolitical, acultural. We can't
do that.

My two-cents' worth. Sorry about the length.

Denise Dilworth
Acting Director, Center for Academic Writing
Madonna University
Livonia, MI