Who Was Your Last Teacher?
Have you ever rejected an idea, then later realized it was correct? Maybe a day or so or even a few years later? It is frequently humbling when this occurs while almost always being enlightening.
In the past few years, I have watched many movies, and much like music, they open my mind to new thoughts. For example, one day, I watched "The Kominsky Method," a streaming comedy-drama TV show on Netflix. Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin are two of the show's stars, and they are involved in a friendly yet heated discussion. The two are driving home from shopping; Alan turns to Michael and says, "When the student is ready, the teacher will arrive." It's fitting since Michael's character isn't buying what Alan's character is telling him. While their conversation continued, my mind turned ninety degrees; suddenly, I realized something evident to many, just not me. Alan's statement was one of many, yet it stood out and meant something!
A bit more about the statement, its origin, and meaning:
The Kominsky Method movie:
When the student is ready, the teacher will arrive. Season 2, Episode 8, Chapter 16: A Thetan Arrives
Based on an old proverb:
"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready; the teacher will Disappear." ― Tao Te Ching
Definition supplied by a guru:
"The saying means that when we are ready to learn and grow, we will be ready to listen to and act upon a piece of knowledge we glean from a teacher who is already in front of us, and perhaps has always been there, but we were not open to receive. Feb 8, 2022."
This hundred-year-old proverb is an interesting one to ponder. Please take a minute and think about your last few weeks; it applies to nearly everything we say and do. I know in the previous year, I purchased two books recommended to me by a friend. I started reading them, finished one, put the other down, walking away to do something else, as it wasn't resonating with me. I restarted the book a few weeks ago and now understand why the recommendation. It's the old proverb in action!
Many years ago, maybe a hundred years ago, I told my employees that my mind was like a ball of Velcro. If they started telling me something and there wasn't anything in my brain that the new information could connect to, I would be unable to retain the information, possibly not understanding it. So again, the old proverb in action uses Velcro to describe my readiness to learn something new.
So who are the teachers that the proverb refers to? Take a guess, wild as it may seem. Are the teachers in our schools, colleges, and places of work the ONLY ones? Yes, they have the title; however, I'm pretty sure it's not limited to just them. Would you believe me if I said we all are? Seriously! Even the kids in your family or social sphere are. But how can that be?
Our parents and possibly our grandparents are the first teachers in our lives. We know it doesn't work to tell the kids, "Go to school and learn." It's up to us to provide the environment that causes our kids to be open to learning, to want to learn. My son kept telling me he had difficulty remembering his English lessons in the sixth grade, yet he could tell you the statistics from 100 baseball cards with his eyes shut. Hmmm, what do you think was missing?
My friend Katie took on the role of being my teacher when I told her I thought horses were just dumb hammerheads, a term I had heard my father say for years. However, it took her some time, something less than a hundred years, to demonstrate that horses possess a high intelligence level. Now I know, right? She also taught me that being highly emotional animals, they are excellent teachers to humans who often think we know everything. The medical community has started using horses as therapy animals for our vets who have experienced war and suffer from PTSD.
So here's my question to you. How often have you been a teacher for someone in the past week, month, or year? Or a student? Sometimes it's difficult and may require some strength of conviction. But, I sense that those who look you in the eye when talking, listening to what you are saying, perhaps challenging you on your statements are interested in teaching you something.
I think it's human nature to take risks. Watch little kids; they take risks constantly, falling down a few times but mostly succeeding and learning from it all.
Are you ready to receive your next teacher?
Helping others to find their compass." by Gene