“Just as we are all students throughout life, we are all teachers.”
~ A Course in Miracles
And, what’s interesting is we teach what we most want to learn. We often go into various fields not as a teacher, rather as a lifelong student willing and wanting to share what we learn.
But, you know, I believe some of the greatest teachers don’t realize they are teaching at all. It may just be in conversation, a light bulb goes off with a brilliant moment of awareness that brings clarity not only for the person, but for everyone else around them.
Or, it may be in actions- observing the way someone “is”. I mean, parents are a great example of this. A mother may tell her child, “Be kind to people.” But, it’s far more impactful for a child to observe her mother actually being kind to people. We don’t realize it, but we are in a constant state of teaching and learning just by “being”. If you want to teach people joy, you must be joyful, if you want teach people strength, you must be strong.
You see, I believe education can happen through words, in writing, of course, which may lead to the reader inspiring him/herself to action. I mean, heck, I’m a writer, so if I don’t believe that I may as well throw away the pen, right? But, I believe real teaching happens in experiences, just as real learning happens by experiencing.
Written words may inspire an action, but don’t sell yourself short, it is you behind the action that is the true teacher. It is you behind the experience that is life’s student. The key is not to let an experience create self-limiting beliefs; take the lesson, learn and grow from it. Each moment should move from the next, the experience does not define who we are, as it is just what is left behind.