Teaching Each Other

In her book, “The Feel the Fear Guide to Lasting Love,” Susan Jeffers suggests that sharing what we know is a good way to show we love someone.

She was speaking about our traditional roles as men and women.  Men, easily, seem to know how to fix things. Where women are more practiced in the art of nurturing.  What if we made a conscious effort to teach each other what we know?

What a win-win situation this is!  I get to talk about something I know well and you get to learn something new.  Something in that process passes between us and strengthens our relationship.  Making us more than the sum of our parts.

I can think of no better way to give something of ourselves.  And won’t the receiver be so much richer for getting something so precious?  It is a yin-yang balance that just feels right. Doesn’t it just feel ancient and wise to pass along what we know?

This sharing of knowledge has plenty of benefits.  It makes us all more well-rounded, more capable people. It allows us to meld our complementary skills and talents.  Creating a better world for it. Surely, it would enhance the education of any child in the vicinity!

Even more importantly, it creates a bridge of understanding between us.  As I learn from you, I get a clearer picture of who you are and how you operate.

It’s a chance to show and tell how you see something.  Sharing your passion and wisdom on a subject.  People love to talk about themselves and their lives.  We all, in a way, really just want to be heard.  This transferring of a skill, talent or passion is a way to be heard while giving something in return.

Can we put a value on education?  On expansion?  The cost of a college degree or a certificate program?  What about a lifetime of learning, person-to-person, me to you, you to me?  As free as love.

What is This Trying to Tell Me?

I believe this is a Loving Universe.  Therefore, it is my understanding that everything that comes my way has something to teach me.  It’s magical when you think about it – that one incident would have something different to teach everyone involved.

My favorite pastor, Stan Gale, wrote recently about how all that comes to us, especially adversity, is there to strengthen our faith. I can sit with that.  I agree that we need to find a way to welcome everything that comes to us with acceptance.  But the result, in my mind, is much bigger than just an escalation of faith.

This circumstance – whether it’s adversity or prosperity, hurtful or joyful, consequential or just a flitter on the radar – can expand our love and consciousness, as well. If we go at life with the question, “What is this trying to tell me?” we allow ourselves to experience so much more.

The other day, I was stood up.  The person who didn’t show certainly has her own lessons to learn, maybe about fulfilling promises or being more honest about what she wants.  Those are not my lessons, though.  I truly wanted to get together and I showed up on time and followed up with phone calls and e-mails.

I could easily be angry.  But if I use this experience and ask what it’s trying to tell me, I can feel sympathy for her. I realize that something else is going on or she would’ve been there.  But what is my part, what is my lesson?  Is it about reading the signs which pointed to this possibility?  Or is it something deeper?  Maybe something about thinking it’s okay to stand me up, without a call?

The point is just that there are lessons for each of us to be found in everything.  My expansion is likely to be different from others within a situation.  By asking a simple question like “What is this trying to tell me?” I open opportunities to grow, to love more and to deepen my faith.