Entries in Education (59)
Liara Covert
Adults are often conditioned to assume that they need to teach the impressionable minds of children lest they be permitted to wander. But, wait a minute! How often have you, as an adult, asked yourself what you can learn from a child? Its never to late to learn:
1) children instinctively know how to be happy in the moment for no reason
2) children dream with no limits
3) children find meaning in choosing to be busy
4) children find it easy to nurture unwavering faith in what they do not see
5) children realize sometimes its necessary to struggle in order to learn
6) children sense value in honesty and are apt to say what they mean
7) children find ways to make sense of what is happening but do not strive to explain it
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Whether or not you realize or accept it, you exert no control over what is happening outside yourself. You have free will and exert control when it comes to your thoughts and feelings, but you don't control anything else. You are only responsible for you.
Now, if you gaze into a kaleidoscope, you glimpse interacting shapes and colors. This serves as a fabulous analogy. Every moment, every human being is contributing to changing shapes and slants inside this kaleidoscope. Life moves through us and with us.
Imagine your life as a series of experiences. You add pieces to your own section of the huge kaleidoscope. It includes sections contributed by every other creature and living thing. How could you control all those colors, feelings and experiences? You don't. The assumption you can is the illusion you create out of a desire to control what you can't.
You are the only person who can discern and change your behaviour. Do you ever sense your choices are selfish or self-centred? Do you ever take steps to fight your own resistence? Pay attention to your vibes. Listen to your mind. Choose to avoid conflict, arguments and negative energy. They are unnecesary illusions. Why not let them go?
Dreams live within us, but sometimes we forget what they are. To awaken or re-awaken your inner child is to give yourself back the freedom to explore the things that mean the most to you. When was the last time you created an environment to just be you?
You may say, "adults do adult things." But, what does this mean? Are you often serious and focused? Do you allow yourself to smile? Do you hear echos of laughter that bubble up from within yourself? When did you last give your facial muscles a work-out?
Tapping into your inner self involves opening up to let feelings flow. In order to realize how you truly feel toward life situations, you need to experience them with your body and soul. Dreams appear compatible with how you perceive yourself from inside.
If you don't know your inner child, that innocent, loving part of you that is untainted by external influences, its less likely you'll uncover what truly means the most. The reassuring thing is that anyone can become reaquainted with who they really are.
Remember what it felt like when you were dreaming about something special and then, you finally got it? You got so excited that you started using it before you decided to read the instructions. What happened after that might not have made you feel so good. Maybe you broke it. Maybe you fudged something. Maybe you're not sure exactly what you did. Maybe you felt guilty? angry? stupid? disbelief? Maybe instructions were nowhere to be found or, the words that were didn't help you to solve your latest problem. What to do? Where to turn?
I've known people to be over-enthusiastic about examples of technology, and then found themselves motivated to do new kinds of learning very fast. Sometimes we behave in ways that lead us to get ahead of ourselves. Then, we realize its meaningful to take a few steps backward. Events in life will unfold in ways that invite us to slow down and learn to become more aware of what we're doing, the how and why. If we come to think we know everything, then we're humbled. As we're made of energy, and becoming consumed by emotions builds up our momentum, its easy to get wrapped up in external things and forget we're disconnected from ourselves.
Some people believe life must come with some kind of instruction manual. You know, a book that's written in a language you understand, that's accessible when you need it, that contains all the answers you could ever need, to help you step-by-step along your journey. Of course, this vision is somewhat unrealistic. Each of us exists for the purpose of learning at our own pace in our own time. We're meant to learn to expect the unexpected, to "roll with the punches," to learn that events will unfold as an opportunity to bring out the best in us.
When it comes to assumptions about instructions, some people believe they need them. Other people believe they don't. Some people believe they could benefit from guidance along their journey. Other people prefer to do everything alone. Our perception of and reactions to challenges will not always be visible from outside. The truth of learning is felt. We don't need words to re-align our souls.
Ultimately, we all go through phases where feelings run our lives, by choice, and feelings don't come with an instruction book. This is an ongoing exercise that permits us to become more aware of "what makes us tick," of what makes us who we are. Just because something doesn't go the way we hope or expect, doesn't mean we're defective or inadequate. Its an opportunity to learn more about our potential.
We all exist to learn and share whatever abilities we have. No matter what work you choose, no matter what you do now, or what you dream of doing differently, work has value for what it is, and because of what you can learn at each step of the way.
Each of us has gifts. Some people have the ability to heal. Some people truly have a knack for raising awareness in others. Some people are inspiring public speakers. Other people are very effective doing what they do best in the background. Even people who sense no specific direction already recognize their basic gift of humility.
The time may arrive when you sense you've lost focus and seek new sources of meaning in work. Come what may, its always desirable to apply talents you have. You can also set out to uncover or develop new skills. Each person is shaken out of comfort zones sometime. Such an experience can seem dis-orienting, even scary yet, doesn't have to be. Move beyond society's view of what's most important.
No matter what happens, you're in the midst of opportunities to grow. Still, loads of people express unhappiness about work. You may know people who sense their job is "beneath them" or they feel like "a square peg in a round hole." You may feel stuck or forced to associate with co-workers you dislike or distrust. You may do your job mechanically because it pays bills, feels safe and represents security.
Do yourself a favor. Recognize you have lots to learn. This year, take initiatives to move beyond your own emotional distractions. Re-think where you are in your job or career and why. Consider where you have opportunities to listen more attentively, to give more of yourself, to show compassion, to impact lives for the better. Discover there's more to life than seeking approval and temporary gratification.