“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself. — Chinese proverb
This has always been a statement that resonated with me. It was the quote I left in my grade 12 yearbook. Back then I only knew of learning in a classroom; I had yet to become aware of how one can be schooled by life.
In more recent years, I have come to realize the lessons that we learn over the course of a lifetime, and have become more open to the teachings of my body and my life. Trying to cultivate a practice in which I have coaches and mentors, but become my own expert. Developing the processes and the patience to listen to the wisdom of my own soul, rather than simply looking to others for answers.
Some of the greatest teachers of all can be found in what we are shown in three areas of ourselves:
- The things that we gravitate toward. These things represent our wisdom. They may be our gifts that we are to bring forth into the world. They may also show us some part of ourselves that we need to heal. That being the case, if you tune in to the types of people that you are drawn to help, and turn the method of helping them that you are most drawn to use into a tool for yourself, you have accessed a way to help yourself — if you are willing to acknowledge that need within. I think most of us who find ourselves in a healing profession start from that inner need — whether we initially know it or choose to acknowledge it. Sometimes it is our wounds that reveal our greatest gifts, as the things to heal and the way to serve become intertwined as we find our way through.
2.The things that trigger us. These are the things that are unresolved. Whether it be a trauma that you have not fully processed, a situation that remains at loose ends, forgiveness that has not been granted, an unmet emotional need, a part of yourself with which you are at odds, or a belief that no longer serves you — these are the things that are in a purgatory of sorts. We can usually ignore them for a while by being ‘busy’, or they may stay dormant for a while when times are good, but they hang around and repeatedly show themselves until such time as we are willing to see and feel them through.
3. The things that we avoid. These things represent our fear. They are whatever scenarios, people, or parts of ourselves that we are, on some level, convinced will be our complete undoing. It may be from a past experience in which we faced actual, mortal danger — or it may be fear of the removal of a mask, the taking down of a wall, or some other egoic dismantling that may invoke the fear. Whatever the perceived threat, these are the areas we resist the most.
The resistance of any one of these teachings may lead to some version of pain, dis-ease, or general discord within the body or life’s experience. These are the classrooms within ourselves that we all must visit at some point on a healing journey. Sometimes they are places that we haven’t visited for a long time, or possibly ever. We may have to ask the teacher’s forgiveness for our absence — that is forgiveness that we must grant ourselves. But, if we return to the classroom with ease and humility (versus kicking and screaming!), healing is possible, and it is never too late.”
By Shannon Stoby on Medium.com
