When the Student is Ready, The Teacher Will Appear
If We are Willing, We can Learn From Each Other – Meet my inconvenient teacher. “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Little did I know that my Higher Power was sending him to me.
One would think that a higher power could have made our first meetings more conducive to mutual respect for one another. But then, maybe that was the whole point.
This stranger became my teacher. At first, we evoked in each other fear and deep seeded anger that we both were called to step up and face within ourselves. Without this, we couldn’t begin to heal. It was Divine intent. An inconvenient miracle. In which a Higher Power set into motion, the crossing and meeting of two unlikely characters.
He wanted to share with me, a few pieces has had written. I was so moved by them I just had to ask him to allow me to share with you all. Thankfully he said yes. It is an honor to be entrusted with his writing and his message. May you be inspired by what he writes below…
I Am Human Just Like You
Here I sit surrounded by smog, smoke, dry grass, empty wishes, good dreams and bad ones too. I was used up at the age of 53 by everyone who said they loved me. Some called me clown, some called me fool. I asked for help but got shined on by all who said that they loved me true
I come from Kentucky originally and ended up in a place called Santa Rosa. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. Dreaming about freedom and peace. I’m a 3 strikes candidate so I keep my cool even under pressure when everything else blows up in everyone’s face.
I keep in mind that no matter how much you love someone, they end up hurting you too. I’m nothing but a human being just like you. I put my sock and shoes on just like everyone else. Even those that hate me too.
I come from a long line of criminals, junkies, and users too. I tell people all the time, I wish I could make all people shine. It’s truly hard to do. Especially when you are hated by the guilty, and the innocent too.
I have been accused of being a monster who has no emotions or feelings and being called rude. Love is a hard emotion for all the abusers and the abused too.
So, I dedicate this poem to all who have been hurt and abused from the womb till present and to the future too. Shine on all of you who are like me. The little boy who only wanted love but got the crappy end of the stick instead of the love so desired that never came true.
So go and tell the world how you truly feel. Sometimes worthless and other times new. Even in hand me downs and other people’s shoes. So, when I finally go home, I won’t have to worry anymore. I’ll be at peace with poppa forever. To all that hate and doubt, I pray you know it’s true.
-Written by just a regular dude
Two Paths Crossing – Miracle Encounters
We will cross paths with thousands of people in our lifetime. Some will be fleeting moments that will be missed with a blink of an eye. Others will seem unimportant, insignificant, and admittedly, some will be perceived as inconvenient or worse.
But what if each passing, and each interaction is seen as an opportunity. What if all that is needed is for us to open our hearts and minds to the possibilities that stand before us. If we commit to this, we can learn from each other.
There is a quote, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”
The greatest honor we can give each other is the acknowledgement that we can learn from each other. We can be each other’s teachers. Are we ready to be students?
In June of this last year of 2021, the writer of these poems and myself reached a tipping point. We stood at the edge of an angry and volatile abyss.
The conflict was with each other. And it required both of us to drop our egos, take a breath, forgive, and move forward with courageous next steps.
It was a chance event. And it asked of us to step out of our comfort zone. It asked of us to have faith and to trust that perhaps, we could gain something from our two crossed paths.
Here is where I become inspired. He apologizes to me first. He opens up and shares a circumstance with me. I will not break his trust, and what he shares stays between me and him.
But he took courage in that moment and showed his better self. His true self. And who would I be if I could not, a fellow human, extend to him my hand? He was able to overcome is ego first and he was able to be better than me in that moment. It was both humbling and inspiring.
I would never have imagined that I would have something to be taught by this stranger in passing. Admittedly, a year ago, the lesson would have been lost on me. I would not have been opened to being taught by him. It never would have occurred to me, that he would have something of value to share with me. It would never have occurred to me that he could add value to my lived experience.
How grateful I am for our chance encounter. I did not know then what I know now…I was a student and was in need for a teacher to appear. I almost missed it. Without taking the first step, this miracle of growth might very well have been missed. And I would have remained less than I am now.
To know that now I get to read and to share what he has written. Each of us adds value to the journey and the experience we call life.
This person, this stranger, I now call friend…I am better and stronger for knowing you. You and I can continue to learn and grow from each other. You and I have our moments. Don’t even pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. But you are here and alive for a purpose. You are appreciated and you are loved.
May you love yourself the way you deserve to be loved. May you make peace with yourself and give yourself the peace you deserve.
We are all stronger and better for these writings you have shared. Remember this and live your life on purpose. Keep sharing your story. Don’t let the dark points of your past be for nothing.
You can still give meaning and purpose to your past and to your regrets by teaching to others what you have learned. They will be stronger for it. And you will come to make peace with your journey and with yourself.
A Lesson of Commitment – Ensuring That We Can Continue to Learn and Grow From Each Other