Teaching what?
Written by Suet: make a difference, sue 4 Comments
We tend to see teaching as a profession, but A Course in Miracles says “Everyone teaches, and teaches all the time.”
Every moment of every day, we are teaching those we encounter and ourselves what we believe about the world. We are also teaching the world how to treat us.
My friend Ken eats a lot of burritos, almost one a day.
“You really love those burritos,” I commented.
“Well, yes, but there is something else,” he explained. “There is this woman at Johnnie’s, this older grandma-type lady, who has the sweetest, most soulful smile I have ever seen. Whenever I go there, she gives me one of those smiles and I feel so good.”
Who woulda thunk it? A burrito lady that changes people’s day, just by her smile. It just looks like she is making burritos. What she is really doing is teaching her customers that they are valuable, appreciated human beings. She is also teaching the world that she has plenty of love and that she knows love is to be shared.
What do you want to teach?
March 27th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
You just re-wrote a version of my grandmother’s eulogy. I remember my aunt saying, “…but what I realized is that my mom was really a teacher…” A eulogy written on the back of an envelope while driving down the highway and missing her exit, which could have turned into a truly terrible lesson.
I find that the best bosses and co-workers and friends and artists are good teachers, even if they don’t know that’s what they’re doing.
March 27th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Teaching is a gift that all-most all of us possesses in one way or another. Everyone can teach something to someone else. I never thought that i would become a teacher as i grew up and finished school, but when i got out of college i was approached by my friend who’s parents started up a real estate marketing business. They needed someone who would travel the country and train their clients on how to use the program. I of-course took the job. Now i know that it isn’t the typical definition of “teaching,” but i definitely love what i do, and never thought that teaching would be so much fun. Also, ironically, i am dating a 5th grade school teacher.
March 28th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I hope I’m teaching that there is good in the world, that no matter how it seems at this moment, love is the most powerful force in the world.
March 30th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I love this. And I love that big orange zinnea at the bottom of this blog!