The Right Teacher

It's said that, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

But, how does the student know who the teacher is? So often, the teachers that we have accumulated over the years are not the ones we need now. If they were, we would still have the situation where we have the same schoolmarm in the same schoolroom all our lives.

It's also true to say that we can outgrow our teachers. What happens, for example, when we ourselves start to teach ourselves. It could be that our teachers are comfortable in their way of life and see no need to change, no need to progress. That's so sad. Imagine going into your child's classroom today and hearing the almost retired teacher say, "When man eventually lands on the moon . . ."

So, why should it be any different psychologically? We are in a constant state of flux, mentally and emotionally. We are, hopefully, constantly growing. But, what if those we have looked up to have stopped, or are "resting"? What if we have lost confidence in our teachers? Not because of any failure on their part, but, simply because we can see their stagnation?

We have to put personality clashes aside. We have to remember that we are not "above" anyone else. We may be "farther along" the road, but that doesn't mean that we cannot learn from those "farther back." In fact, we must learn from them if we are to move forward. Otherwise, we might start slipping back!