“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” – Buddhist proverb
At various times during our lives we will be the student waiting for our teacher to appear. At other times, we will be the teacher who appears for the student when we are needed to depart some of our knowledge.
I’ve been in too many situations in my life for this proverb not to be true. Just when I didn’t know which way to turn, I would read some information (usually some book) which would make me think in a new way and I would apply it to whatever was causing me issues. Or, other times people would enter (or re-enter) my life during circumstances which only they would be able to help me.
What about you? Have you had any situations where it seemed like all of a sudden, the exact information that you needed was presented to you in such a way that it seemed like magic? Sometimes you didn’t even know what you were looking for until it suddenly appeared in your life.
It may seem like magic when this happens, but there is a lot of things going on behind the scenes.
For when we are the student:
When we are ready as students, the mind shifts to being open to receiving new information. The information was always there, but we weren’t able to see it. We were not ready.
Once you are ready and are prepared to accept help, it will be as if the floodgates are opened. Information will be coming at you in all directions. You’ll notice things that you haven’t ever noticed before.
Our subconscious mind is always working and it will be looking for the people, relationships, experiences, books and resources that we need. Your job is to make yourself ready to receive the information. Don’t discount what you have read or what someone has said to you.
Be receptive to new avenues and new ways of thinking. You never know in which direction your teacher will appear. Talk to many different people, read new books, check out new blogs, network with people from various industries, and be open to new experiences.
It’s not only the old grey-haired people who have gathered knowledge and wisdom either. Many times I have been surprised at the wisdom young people in my life have. They are not jaded by life and often provide a fresh perspective.
For when we are the teacher:
When we are ready as teachers, the mind also shifts to be aware of what is going on in our lives, our communities and in the world around us.
Where can we find students who need our knowledge and wisdom? Whom can we help today? Whom is ready to receive the information that we have to give?
All of us have our own life experiences and wisdom to draw upon. We all have a unique voice which will resonate with some people, and not others. That’s okay. No two people think exactly alike and no two people learn exactly alike either.
We also have to be prepared with the tools to depart our knowledge. Most of you who are reading this article have blogs where we write about things that we have learned, or our experiences, or our dreams and hopes, or we provide valuable resources.
Are we hoping to have students all of a sudden appear?
Or are we actively looking for our students so that we are able to help them? Are we actively looking for problems to solve?
When you write your articles, I suggest you keep in mind both sets of students – those who are ready right now to hear what you have to say to them for their current situation and those who are not yet ready.
That is to say, don’t be discouraged by what you have written if no one appears to be taking action – maybe they are not ready right now for your knowledge. That’s okay because there will be other people who are ready and who desperately need to hear what you have to say to them.
Those students are the ones who you should cultivate and nurture because they are ready right now for you to be their teacher. The other ones may rediscover what you have written later on in their lives and take what they need then.
There is something of an echo chamber on the net where people write about the same topics over and over again. But, I think that’s perfectly fine in certain situations because as I said, not everyone is ready at the same time for the piece of information and everyone has their own unique voice that they use to depart that information.
To recap: As students open your mind to receiving new information and believe that your teacher will appear when you need them. As teachers, don’t be discouraged to write about what other people are writing about because your knowledge, life experience and wisdom is different than everyone elses.
Who can help you today? Who can you help today?
Karen writes at A Meaningful Existence, a blog devoted to helping others put meaning into their existence through practical personal development strategies. You can subscribe to her RSS Feed and also find her on Twitter at @kruby.
Thanks for the article. It is an important to always keep in mind when we’re looking for insight to fill us, or fill insight in others. There’s always a gradient.
I’ve also seen many times when the following paradox takes place. People presume they’re the teacher but in fact it’s them that are needing to being taught a valuable lesson. Also people presume they’re students, but the universe conspires to make them to be the ones to shine light on ignorance. Our psychology is so prone to these types of reversals, and it’s important to keep this in mind as well.
Thanks for the article.
Hi DM,
You bring up a really good point about people actually being the students when they think they are the teachers. If you are not open to continuous learning from a variety of sources, it can be confusing.
I think we all are teachers at certain times of our lives and at other times we are the students. There’s a lot of teaching to depart and to learn.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Do You Recognize Yourself In These 6 Stages of Change? =-.
That’s a good proverb karen. we know that no one’s perfect in the world.We need to be behave in the both ways as a teacher & also as a student.But we should be ready to be a student every minute bcoz learning is a continuous process and we must do it till the end of life.But the common attitude is many of them are not ready to be students though they know they need help.
.-= Krish – lifesher´s last blog ..8 Success Attributes Every Winner Possess =-.
Hi Krish,
I’m glad that you liked the article and you’re right – everyone is a student because there is too much information and wisdom out there for one person to know everything. Good point!
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Do You Recognize Yourself In These 6 Stages of Change? =-.
This was a very good article. And it’s true that you should speak your voice because you never know who you’re helping. Prepare to give help and be ready to receive help also.
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Only Time Will Tell =-.
Hey Eric,
Thanks – I’m glad that you enjoyed the article.
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Do You Recognize Yourself In These 6 Stages of Change? =-.
I’ve always found that when I step out in faith, the right teacher (and the right resources) appear to support my steps. Good point also about not assuming others aren’t taking action on something we posted about strictly because we don’t see outward results. That really dovetails with your post on Meaningful Existence about the stages of change.
.-= Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..How to Handle a Dream Snatcher =-.
Hi Jean,
Yes, having faith and believing that your teacher (or student) will appear when you need them is important. As is being aware that they may not be in the guise that you expected.
Yes, my post about Change does fit nicely with this article – thanks for noticing
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Do You Recognize Yourself In These 6 Stages of Change? =-.
Openness to learning is critical and the process of preparing to teach is very educational.
.-= JadeDragon@innovativepassiveincome´s last blog ..Associated Content Pulls the Plug – Scam Alert =-.
Thanks for stopping by, JadeDragon
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Stop Lying To Yourself =-.
I agree with everyone…this is a great article. Very timely and coincidental for me. I used to be a teacher (literally) and knows how good it feels to impart knowledge and be of service to others. However, at this point in time (in fact the last couple of months), I was the student. As DM pointed out – I thought I was the teacher.
Last week, I was training this colleague of mine. A couple of hours ago, he was talking about (reminded me) that “things happen for a reason.”
Hi Gines.
Thanks and I’m happy that you liked the article. As a former teacher, you give us a unique perspective on the saying. Although, I guess you can never really be a ‘former’ teacher, eh
We are all teachers and we are all students.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Do You Recognize Yourself In These 6 Stages of Change? =-.
It is interesting how these things always happen at the right time. I’ve also found that saying to be true “if you want to learn, teach.” I learn a lot when I’m teaching someone else, either because they run into unique problems that I wouldn’t have and then I have to figure it out or research it, or sometimes something pops out of my mouth that it seems I’ve always known to be true but never thought about before. I hear myself say it and think “wow, that was true, I never knew that.”
Timing is fascinating though, because when we’re ready emotionally, and mentally to learn, the right opportunity comes up in one way or another.
.-= Carlos Velez´s last blog ..How to Build an e-Book: A Professional Writer’s Guide for Beginners =-.