[dropcap]B[/dropcap]eing the age that I am and having gone through the experiences that I have, I can tell you – there are easier ways.
I grew up in a loving family. We have had our fair share of difficulties but one thing we have in common is our faith. Now by faith I don’t mean religion or the belief in just one figure above, but rather, in the belief of a higher power, something that is greater than us – that of the universe. The universe is our guide to all things. It listens when we speak and it speaks back to us. Sometimes we don’t want to hear what it has to say, which is funny because it is only giving to us, what we have put out there to it in the first place. I want to say that I am on a spiritual path because I am aware of that fact, but the truth is – we all are. We are all here, present and living in our physical bodies that we chose, for a purpose, and that is to learn.
We learn every day – sometimes the difficult way and other times in peace and ease. It has taken me more than 3 decades to simply comprehend that there are indeed more simple and joyful ways to learn.
Where do we learn? We learn from our parents, from our siblings, and from our friends and very prominently, we learn from school. What is school? Is it simply a four walled institution in which we are assumed to enroll in at a certain age and then complete between another set of ages? I know that it is the expectation that as citizens of this global population, if education is accessible to you, then you must be accessible to it…at least until the age of 16 that is. In addition, school is a place where you spend more hours in a day than you do with your own family. It is a place where you spend a good number of years with those who are not necessarily the closest to you, but those who are chosen for you. This may be an incredible reality to you or one that is not.
While you may think you have gained an excellent year of learning because you had what you deemed an excellent teacher who taught you subjects well, you just might be right. You may have also endured a year where you had a teacher who taught you ‘all wrong,’ didn’t like kids, and had coffee breath. Well, I guess you didn’t learn anything right? Wrong. Your learning was just hidden a bit deeper – you had to do a little more self-realization, inner reflection and investigation into your learning. The fact is everyone in your life is your teacher – even the most difficult of encounters.
Look at the individuals in your life as mirrors. What are they reflecting to you? Do you love a person and feel an instant attraction towards their personality? What part of you is like that person? Do you notice that trait inside yourself as well? Do you take the time to live and foster it? Are you grateful for carrying that trait? Now, how about someone that you don’t favour as much? What do you see in the mirror now? Dig deep…a little deeper. Are you able to admit to yourself that ‘that’ something in that person you dislike is the very thing in yourself that you don’t care for? Is this a message to you to make your reflection a bit more desirable to look at? You see, we are always learning from each and every person.
Who would you say that most of your childhood time was spent with? I would say that it was your ‘teachers’ – the traditional kind anyway. So, what influence do you think they have had in your life? Have you ever thought about this? What do you remember them teaching you? Was it important? What didn’t they teach you? What do you wish they had?
Share your responses with New Age Teacher…we would love to hear them!