I discovered an amazing teacher that has taught me to look at how I view the world and how I engage every aspect of it. Now, like most of my learning, the lessons I learn rarely become evident as my teacher is speaking, but rather after I have had time to process what I have learned.
I have only known my teacher for about 3 1/2 years. And after years of formal education, countless seminars & workshops and hundreds of books, I have found my greatest professor when I wasn’t even looking. I was infatuated with him when we first met. He wasn’t so sure of me. He was very quiet, taking in each moment of our time together. Even though he didn’t talk much, his simple wisdom was difficult to misunderstand. He took his time giving me my first life lesson: We each need each other.
Simple. To the point. Easily missed in the hustle of our everyday lives, especially in this day of texting, emailing, and tele-commuting. But this basic lesson is important to understand as foundational to all his other lessons. WE EACH NEED EACH OTHER!
Part two of this first lesson is about application. My teacher began to show me that we each need each other by the simple gesture of a smile. Looking someone in the eyes and smiling quickly reminds a person that we need each other. It also taught me that a smile can change the world. Wayne Dyer stated, “When we change how we look at the world, the world changes.” A sincere smile can change how we look at the world. It changes our affect, which changes our effect.
Now after 3 1/2 years, my lessons are more frequent and my conditioning has made me more aware. Even though we do not spend as much time together as we once did, the lessons are more obvious-if I take the time to watch and learn from him.
- Arise early, start the day with a fresh attitude and a morning routine.
- Life is meant to be filled with action, not sitting to read the newspaper or watching TV.
- A kiss has magical powers.
- Ask lots of questions.
- It is OK to toot your own horn. Celebrate your accomplishments and share them with others.
- Have heroes. It is important to have people with strong character to look up to.
- Believe in miracles.
- Express authentic emotions. When you are happy-be happy and dance and cheer. When you are sad, cry and asked to be held. When you are angry, yell and scream to let it out.
- Say I love you. Say I am sorry. Say thank you. These statements are powerful to the people you say them to, but more importantly, they are empowering to your spirit’s well being. Love, Forgiveness and Gratitude.
- Read positive stories that allow your mind to create powerful lessons and visions, especially before bed.
As you can see his simple lessons are all about getting back to basics. As we grow older it seems most of us clutter our lives and complicate things. We believe that buying things will lead to happiness or a better life-WRONG. Instead these same items actually rob us of a small portion of our life. What are the basics for you to have a happy life? Friends? Family? Income? Love? Travel? Figure out the “things” that may be weighing you down and simplify. Back to basics.
As I stated in the beginning, a culmination of my teachings so far have led to a better understanding of perspective, how I view the world. As the Wayne Dyer quote speaks to, we must become aware of the lens through which we see the world. And if we take time to change that lens, our reality of our experiences changes. My guru of life’s lessons have not come from a man of many years, the type of mentor I have wished for, but rather from my 3 1/2 year old son, Jackson.
Jackson has helped me reverse my perception of roles and preset assumptions. He has helped me realize that broadening my awareness and not trying to fit my reality into my own expectations, opens many more opportunities, and many more classrooms. Jackson has shown me that By learning you will teach and by teaching you will learn.
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