Reflections

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  1. Robin Ann
    Robin Ann
    2 months ago

    My son has been interviewing for 2 exciting new job opportunities. He says thank you every so often for the push and encouragement to get his Bachelor’s degree. He got an Associate first and then went on for another 2 yrs. He was depressed when he first tried college and quit. I had him take easy classes, like art (which he loves) once he was ready to give it a try again. It was soft encouragement from me though!! I am so very proud of him. I realized though today that it was my parent’s inspiration that was kicking in back in those days. They told my siblings and I we were all going to college because it was so important to them that we did. I have an associates degree but went back to school when I was 50 and have a 1 yr certificate. I have to thank my parents that instilled that in me.

    1. Mary
      Mary
      2 months ago

      Robin, it so apparent that you love your children and have done
      whatever you can to help them to be happy and successful.
      ♥️♥️♥️

      1. Robin Ann
        Robin Ann
        2 months ago

        Awe thanks Mary for your kind words 🥰

        1. Mary
          Mary
          2 months ago

          ♥️

  2. sparrow51014
    sparrow
    2 months ago

    My parents taught me how to say ‘thank you’,
    give the other person the larger slice of cake,
    don’t speak too loudly,
    how to tie my shoes and tell time . . .
    don’t hurt others,
    and to not make a spectacle of myself.
    Later I did,
    but not until after I left home.
    Miss Pernetti,
    my second grade teacher,
    taught me Spanish . . .
    Miss Kilgore,
    my eighth grade gym teacher,
    taught me about prejudice,
    Mr. Sandivar
    taught me what slovenliness looks like,
    Mr. Barton
    taught me the cost of bullying a student . . .
    Mrs.Schumacher,
    taught me to love underwater science.

    The many dogs, cats, birds,
    chamelon’s, squirrels
    and turtles,
    all taught me important lessons about life,
    and about death.
    I was fortunate
    that my mother allowed these creatures into the house
    and other beings who found their way into my care . . .
    they all taught me about responsibility,
    love, and affection . . .
    and that we are more alike than we are different.
    Through them
    and through gardening,
    I’ve learned
    that you get out of something or someone
    whatever you put into it . . .
    the more earnestly you give,
    the higher the reward.

    Other important lessons
    I learned from failing,
    making terrible mistakes,
    some with life long consequences.
    I came to a crossroads
    when I was suffering deeply . . .
    I knew I had a choice to make,
    and that was to be hard and bitter,
    or soft and open to what the Universe had to offer me.
    I consciously chose the latter . . .
    that was a major turning point in my journey,
    and I have never regretted it. ♥

    1. Elizabeth H67151
      Elizabeth H
      2 months ago

      Sparrow, in your list of teachers I wasn’t sure whether some of them may have teached by setting an example of what NOT to do? Several others have mentioned below that some of our teachers are those who teach us what not to do. I also had an eighth grade teacher (Health teacher) who taught me about prejudice– I didn’t realize it until a few years ago. She was a white woman who told our mainly white class about her scary experience of her car breaking down in the “wrong part of town” where the majority of people were of another race. Because of her story, I was afraid for years of breaking down in the wrong part of town. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized– NOTHING BAD HAPPENED in her story. Her story was just about all the bad things that she thought could have happened and how lucky she was that she got out unscathed.

    2. Mary
      Mary
      2 months ago

      ♥️

  3. Ose
    Ose
    2 months ago

    Many have been, and for those, deep appreciation and gratefulness fills my heart; my teacher of arts at school was a constant inspiration of learning how to create art with a wide variety of techniques offered, Martin Luther King jr was opening up mind and spirit for justice and vision; my teacher in my profession who was a monomaniac of enthusiasm and inspiring professional knowledge in his/ our field who was available even at night when we students were having difficulty to solve a problem, we went upstairs asking for help and he would come down in his bathrobe, would sit down next to us and helped sorting out what needed to be looked at until he had a satisfying idea of which we all learned a huge lot, of being committed all together, of being full of engagement and joy and motivation to do something supportive for people who came day and night; my spiritual teacher was and still is, and my friends and loved ones did and do help a lot to keep balance even in most difficult states, last but not least you all here are as well, and all named and so many unnamed did and still do help and are also important teachers to me, including those most dear to me where i failed. This does not take away my deep gratefulness, appreciation, friendship and love to all concerned. Thank you all dearly. May blessings be with all of you. ✨❤️✨

    1. Mary
      Mary
      2 months ago

      May blessings be with you, dear Ose.

  4. Patti
    sunnypatti
    2 months ago

    There have been so many important Who’s and What’s in my life.
    From those who have inspired me and also those who have shown me what not to do. Parents, my husband, siblings and other family members, friends, ex friends, ex partners, surf buddies, yoga teachers, yoga friends, neighbors, coworkers & bosses… there are so many, and I thank them all.
    And then there are those who do not know they are my teachers – authors, spiritual leaders in the world (both past and present), and all of the many cooking shows I grew up watching on PBS that taught me how to cook when my parents were working and I was the oldest kid who was responsible for making dinner. Julia Childs, Martha Stewart, and the many others who shared their love of making food and feeding others. I think that is an inherent trait in me, but their teachings helped me bring it to fruition in my own life.
    Last but not least, yoga itself. All eight limbs. Life-changing knowledge and growth that has helped me heal in ways that I don’t believe anything else could have offered. Yoga is everything, and everything is yoga.

  5. Barb C
    Barb C
    2 months ago

    Life and how I handle its ups and downs.
    My parents, who gave me so much and taught me responsibility and resilience.
    My children, who made me a mother and pushed me to be a good one because that’s what they needed and deserved.
    The schoolteachers along the way who nourished my love of reading. (Thank you, Mrs. Provost, for letting me sit by the bookcase in fourth grade!)
    People who’ve supervised me and modeled both how and how not to be a good manager and leader.
    Political mentors who helped me run, win, and make a difference serving in elected office.
    My friends who share their challenges and joys and how they’re living through those.
    The cycles of nature. The sun rises every morning whether or not I had a great day yesterday.
    The pets who have modeled complete relaxation, appreciating having food to eat, and joy in the sun’s warmth.

  6. Elizabeth H67151
    Elizabeth H
    2 months ago

    I have been in shock and grief since yesterday after learning that my friend Stephanie died a few weeks ago. It is a similar situation to someone else in this group (was it Robin Ann?) where I didn’t learn about it until after her funeral. I am so upset that I didn’t get to be there to meet her other friends and grieve together!

    She was a teacher in just being utterly herself. I sometimes heard some people talk poorly about her because she was not conventional, but in being herself she also enabled some people (like myself) to feel completely comfortable and at home with her.

    I used to go on walks with her pretty regularly. I really enjoyed our time together. We both had a strong interest in spirituality and could have talks about that which other people might find boring. And she was very observant, so sometimes she would describe to me in great detail some performance or party or gathering that she went to, and it was like I was getting to be there by hearing how she described it. Sometimes we would just walk in silence for most of the time, and it was comfortable with her to just be in silence too. I felt like I had time to think when I was around her because we allowed lots of silence in our conversation. Sometimes she would be in a weird mood, and really upset about something, so those walks weren’t as enjoyable. But other times she would be in a playful mood, and noticing things that I never had noticed, and we would go off the beaten path a little on our walks to explore something.

    In recent years, I held some resentment because she never would initiate asking to get together for a walk. Time after time, it always was me who had to initiate the invitation. She still would frequently say yes to the invitation, and seem to genuinely enjoy the walk and thank me at the end. But that is why several weeks went by without me knowing that she had died. I didn’t want to bug her too often. She had been a part of my faith community, and then she had decided to leave that community and joined a different one where she had some close friends. I think that her life was full enough with her new community that it just did not occur to her to reach out to me. I don’t know in retrospect if it might have been a good idea for me to communicate my feelings to her? Yes, that is some learning I have gained. I could have thought it through how to say it and talked with her sometime about this during a walk. This might have helped us stay closer, or maybe it wouldn’t have, but at least I would have communicated with her how I feel instead of having that silent resentment.

    1. pkr29022
      pkr
      2 months ago

      Elizabeth, I am sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. May you remember all the good times you shared with your friend.
      Peace & Love….🕊️🩷

      1. Elizabeth H67151
        Elizabeth H
        2 months ago

        Thank you, PKR ♥️. Reading yours and everyone else’s responses makes me feel like at least I got to grieve with a community, even if I didn’t get to grieve with the community of her other friends during her funeral.

    2. Michele
      Michele
      2 months ago

      My condolences on the sudden loss of your friend.

      1. Elizabeth H67151
        Elizabeth H
        2 months ago

        Thank you, Michele– I appreciate it!

    3. Mary
      Mary
      2 months ago

      Elizabeth, I am so sorry to hear of your friend passing.
      Relationships sure aren’t simple.
      I know from unexpectedly losing my youngest sister
      how hard it is to deal with the things left unsaid
      and the misunderstandings that go unresolved.
      The downside is the regrets.
      The upside is that we learn.
      Again Elizabeth, I am so sorry for your loss.
      Sending love, Mary

      1. Elizabeth H67151
        Elizabeth H
        2 months ago

        Thank you Mary, for your kind words! I am so sorry about the unexpected loss of your youngest sister. I am indeed trying to apply a gratefulness lens to this great sorrow and reap the learning from it.

        1. Mary
          Mary
          2 months ago

          Learning from painful experiences is always our choice.
          It doesn’t make the pain go away, but we become wiser and more empathetic.
          The pain still stings though, doesn’t it.
          All part of the human experience.

    4. Robin Ann
      Robin Ann
      2 months ago

      Yes, Dear Elizabeth it was me that heard the terrible news of my friend’s death. I am so terribly sorry for your loss. Please know I am sure she was very very fond of you even if sometimes she hesitated. My friend was also a bit quirky about getting together in person on several occasions.

      I hope somehow you find peace with this. Maybe you know a mutual friend or family member? My sister ended up calling my friend’s son that gave me a little closure. There wasn’t an obituary or even a funeral. Thinking of you during this difficult time. Sending hugs🙏

      1. Elizabeth H67151
        Elizabeth H
        2 months ago

        Thank you for sharing a little more about your friend, Robin Ann. I am so sorry that there was not a funeral for her. My friend also did not have an obituary, which is part of why I did not find out about her death until I heard about it by word of mouth. I am glad that you were able to get some closure through your sister and your friend’s son. Yes indeed, part of what is so painful about missing the funeral is the chance to meet and reminisce with her other friends. I did reach out to a few people in my faith community who knew her, but none of them were very close to her. She got quite close to the minister and his wife in her new faith community, so I will try to reach out to them.

        1. Robin Ann
          Robin Ann
          2 months ago

          Oh that is a very good idea!! I hope you do connect with the minister and wife 💕
          My friend was a career counselor at my HS at one point. I wonder if that is why they wanted to keep it low key. Plus her daughter has a lot of health issues. Her son said they planned on spreading my friends ashes out to sea this spring/summer but again it may be a private ceremony. I hope to go to Cape Cod with my daughter maybe when she visits. My Mom is buried there and maybe the two of us can think of something together in honor our friend. .

          1. Elizabeth H67151
            Elizabeth H
            2 months ago

            That sounds like a lovely idea to create your own ceremony together with your daughter to honor your friend, Robin!

    5. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      2 months ago

      I am so sorry to hear of this unexpected news,
      dear Elizabeth,
      and sorry too
      that you feel a sense of unfinished business.
      It must have felt like getting punched in the stomach,
      which was how I felt
      when my niece called to tell me that my little brother
      had died of covid,
      after being on a respirator for six weeks.
      Sudden news of death
      tends to haunt us a bit more,
      and I pray
      that your healing
      takes the time you need . . .
      I hold you in my heart
      with love . . . ♥

      1. Elizabeth H67151
        Elizabeth H
        2 months ago

        I appreciate your kind words and sharing, Sparrow. Yes, it did feel like getting punched in the stomach. I am so sorry about the loss of your little brother ♥️

    6. Patti
      sunnypatti
      2 months ago

      Oh goodness, I’m so sorry Elizabeth.

      1. Elizabeth H67151
        Elizabeth H
        2 months ago

        Thank you, Sunnypatti ♥️

    7. Barb C
      Barb C
      2 months ago

      I’m sorry you missed the news and the gathering. That has to sting.

      Sometimes people are our teachers through our own work of arriving at an insight, not through something they did or said. This feels like that kind of learning. That’s a way she’ll stay in your life and maybe eventually your feelings evolve into appreciation for the lesson, with the resentment diminishing or disappearing.

      Over the years I’ve had friends like this where I’m the one who puts in the effort to reach out and initiate. They say yes, they seem happy to spend time together, it’s just not their way to start something. Or when they do, maybe it’s with other people and not me. I had to decide if the time together was important enough to me to invest the energy. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. I read something about friends being in different bands or circles around us. If I’m not part of their inner circle and they’re not in mine, that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy spending time together when there’s an opportunity. It means we can’t be/get everything to/from everybody. We all do what we can with the time we have.

      1. Mary
        Mary
        2 months ago

        As usual your insight is very helpful, Barb.

      2. sparrow51014
        sparrow
        2 months ago

        Well said,
        dear Barb . . .
        thank you
        for putting it into words . . . ♥

      3. Elizabeth H67151
        Elizabeth H
        2 months ago

        Thank you, Barb ♥️

  7. Mary
    Mary
    2 months ago

    Brother David
    Tara Brach
    Kristin Neff
    Myself, by figuring out when and where to reach out for help and inspiration
    This group at the Daily Question, always inspiring me.

    My intention today is to be peaceful,
    even if it is while feeling distress.

  8. pkr29022
    pkr
    2 months ago

    I have had so many “teachers” cross my path.
    I believe we are all teachers & students.
    In order to learn my lessons I must stay open, receive, accept & process. Life is a classroom.
    The older I get the more I realize how much I do not know….
    I am constantly learning from you all here.
    Thank you. 🙏🏻🩵🕊️

  9. Yram
    Yram
    2 months ago

    I have had boundless “who” and “what” in my life. I had an art teacher who taught me that any mistake can be fixed. I had worked really hard on a piece and as I moved my sleeve across the paper I smudged the lettering. I was a devastated teenager. She gave me some ideas and the finished project was acceptable.

  10. D
    Drea
    2 months ago

    My body. I was taught, growing up, that my body wasn’t mine, and that I shouldn’t feel. Healing has been a process of learning to interpret and appreciate my body. So many signals, sensations and emotions, come from my body at any given moment. It’s quite a marvel to pay attention to. An ongoing teacher for sure.

    1. Mary
      Mary
      2 months ago

      That’s so interesting!
      So many of my emotional issues show up in my body.
      I think I’ll pay more attention to that.
      Thanks, Drea.

  11. Avril
    Avril
    2 months ago

    This is a thought-provoking question, and I want to honor my commitment to moderate brevity 😉. I have had many lights guide my path: I have loving parents (who I have the honor of caring for now). Like Ron Burgundy, my mother taught me, “Stay classy.” My father gave me a love of philosophy. My first yoga teacher, Allen Pittman (who took me to see the Dalai Lama over 25 years ago), taught me that yoga is a career, and I’ve been teaching for 30 years this September. My first true Traditional Yoga philosophy master, Swami J, has been a loving inspiration for 20 years. Ma Tripurashakti and Leela brought the Divine Feminine into my life over the last 4 years—knowing the Center as Mother is a revelation. We need more feminine energy in this hyper-masculine world. My husband and children continually stretch me and show me love I didn’t know existed. I shout out to all my other mentors and friends—including the participants on this site—who inspire me regularly.

    1. Michele
      Michele
      2 months ago

      “We need more feminine energy in this hyper-masculine world”. -Amen!

  12. Charlie T
    Charlie T
    2 months ago

    I had a teacher, in Junior high school, his name was Glen Watanabe, and he gave me my love for history and also more importantly, my ability to think critically. He challenged us to see things from different perspectives. What a gift!
    Now, I have come across or have worked with, so many amazing people, young and old, that have taught me so much. You never know where your next lesson will come from. It helps that I am curious about the world.

  13. Michele
    Michele
    2 months ago

    I have had many important teachers in my life, – school/college teachers, family, friends, exes, co-workers…
    Learn the lessons everyone, keep trying, stay positive 🙂

  14. Joseph
    Joseph McCann
    2 months ago

    Everyone. Every person I may meet today, or any other day, knows something I do not. I just need to listen. May all have enough. Namaste.

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      2 months ago

      I agree,
      dear Joseph,
      and I expand on that,
      which I’m sure you won’t mind . . .
      I believe that every experience we have
      has something to teach us
      if we pay attention . . .
      if not,
      it’ll happen again,
      maybe in another form,
      until we learn.
      Thank you . . .
      yes,
      I do have enough. ♥

    2. Mary
      Mary
      2 months ago

      “Every person I may meet today, or any other day, knows something I do not.”
      I really love this, Joseph!

  15. Laura
    Laura
    2 months ago

    Experience has been one of my most important teachers.

    1. Mary
      Mary
      2 months ago

      Yes, Laura, absolutely!

    2. Michele
      Michele
      2 months ago

      good one!

    3. L
      Loc Tran
      2 months ago

      Good one, Laura. “The best teacher in life is experience.” LeBron James

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