“Teachers are Everywhere”
It’s funny how teachers are everywhere and when the student is ready they just pop out from all sides to teach. Sometime we do not see them as teacher since they show up in various forms. Some come in the form of opportunities, challenges and sometimes even just a stranger saying something that suddenly sounds enlightening as if spoken by a guru. This book showing up in your life right now is not a coincidence too. So as we walk this earth and live this life we would do well to open up our hearts and minds and let these teachers into our lives. When you do that, you will suddenly pay attention to everyone in you life. You will become aware of the teacher and the lessons. Your awareness for the lessons become sharper and you find more and more lessons in ordinary everyday happenings in your daily existence. A lover may suddenly leave you and your world shatters and the future becomes too bleak to bear. This feeling will linger seemingly forever until you learn your lesson and let go of the pain, for it has already served its purpose of teaching. Maybe the lesson was one on humility, forgiveness, acceptance, ego or love.
When we learn our lesson from a situation we appreciate the pain or grief that has been the reason why the lesson was so difficult to learn and then we actually bless the person or situation that has initially given us the problem. We then change our perception of this event and have gratitude that it happened when it did. These lessons prepare us for the next stage in our life, perhaps another lesson or the benefit from learning the lesson or both. The teachers are preparing us for a future opportunity after we learn this one. But when our ego gets in the way then we refuse to learn the lesson and we keep denying, justifying or explaining and we miss the point and do not learn the lesson and that thing that gives us pain will still have power over us and keep us suffering needlessly. Once you have put aside your ego and really looked at the situation or the person. You will discern what might this thing may actually be and if you realize the lesson and then you move on to the next phase. It is like a rite of passage if you will. That one must suffer the pain before reaping the rewards, so that the pleasure may be even more meaningful and complete. Sometimes we need to know failure to appreciate it when we do find success. Sometimes we need to experience pain to appreciate the absence of it. No pain no gain. Sometimes we need to be hungry to appreciate the food. The principle of YIN AND YANG. One cannot experience black without white, heat without cold, good and evil, love and fear. So welcome whatever shows up in your life. Nothing is ever good or bad for you. Take everything that comes as it is, without judgment and without being affected by the event or situation but always learning.
I learned a few years ago that my ego was keeping me righteous, proud and demanding of others. Ego was keeping me from loving truly unconditionally. Everything I did was to feed my ego. To look better, feel better and be noticed and appreciated by people. So while I was doing good work, there was a subtle desire for popularity or appreciation. And when I did not get the admiration, it felt incomplete. Our egos demand to be fed and when it is not fed we feel fear. When I let go of my ego needs things became easier. Fear of not being good enough, healthy enough, pretty enough or fear of not being loved. If this happens we become a victim to other’s opinions or their approval. What if no one knows what you do? That is the true test of character, who you are when no one is looking.
We get hurt because of what people do to us and also sometimes because of what they don’t do to us. We get all riled up and angry and start to lash out in revenge and judgement about them. We fail to realize that they are also reacting to their own set of circumstances that cause them to hurt others. They are undergoing their own process. It’s not about you! The great teacher Jesus Christ said “Forgive them they know not what they do” They are not aware of the hurt that they are inflicting to others. They are hurting themselves more than they are hurting you or others. If we understand this then it is easier to accept and love them not for who they are but for the God in them. Everyone has potential goodness but is spoiled by the ego that refuses to look beyond the present pain.
When we judge others we fall into the same trap that has kept us imprisoned for so long. “Judge not lest ye be judged” is the maxim that comes to mind. It is so easy for us to judge and yet when we are judged, we rebel and lash out. Awareness of this principle enables us to look beyond what people are doing to us and see the higher potential of people and respect them for that. This will also calm our emotions when we get hurt because we will realize that they are suffering from lack of awareness and therefore will learn from their own process and we should not allow ourselves to get sucked into their drama.
There are people who make it their business to look into what other people are doing, how much they are earning, what everyone is wearing, who is going out with whom, they compare their own lives with others. What is worse is that they live their lives talking about others and judging and condemning other’s behaviors. This is an indication of their own lack of self worth. We should not need other people to approve of our behavior or us. We were born complete and should know that we don’t need these trappings that the world says we need. Mass media and the wonders of advertising create many “needs” in us. I need a new car. I need that new phone or gadget. When you realize this truth you will suddenly have this calm assurance that you are okay without these trappings.
It’s funny how when we accept and embrace life and all it’s challenges and stop resisting these teachers and lessons in our life, they suddenly lose their power over us and we become liberated and empowered. When the student is ready the teacher will appear and when the student learns and the teacher is no longer needed then the teacher leaves. Then comes along another teacher for the next lesson.
