I'm a brand new reader of
I don't practice & have never practiced yoga.
But the Winter 2009/2010 issue
landed a must-have-talon
in my chest,
so hence came home with me.
Features like
"Heart of India'
'11 Insomnia Solutions'
'The Heart of Pilgramage'
'Your Guide to Spirital Activism'
and the cover art ...
well ...
irresistible,
particularly after
finally viewing,
last weekend,
a Yoga For Beginners
DVD I've had for months.
Then I read the interview in Yoga Threads
with Angela Farmer
also new to me,
and
came across this quote:
'My biggest teacher is my teaching.
As teachers, we teach what we
really need to learn.'
THAT thought,
my friends,
was also brand spanking new to me.
Here I am,
with a new blog,
and the intent of using it as a teaching tool,
a forum for learning
AND
inspiration
AND
encouragement.
What, my goodness,
do I need to learn?
I'm not sure about that,
quite frankly,
but
I can tell you what I AM learning.
I am learning
that I was right:
I do have a voice,
and something to say.
I am learning,
via comments, email & other feedback,
where the interest pulse resides,
which topics are reaching readers,
where the concerns & fears exist.
I am learning
that asking doesn't mean receiving,
but asking is a tiny baby step
toward my goal,
and each step validates my path,
solidifies my purpose,
reenergizes my faith in my ability to do this.
And asking,
many many many times,
does mean receiving.
I am learning
that all the years of writing
'to a void'
'in a vacuum'
'alone to myself'
amount to a vast reservoir of confidence anyway.
Ditto blogging,
ditto taking workshops & classes,
ditto participating in swaps &
round robins & on-line groups,
ditto submitting my art,
although none of it was accepted,
ditto the uncountable hours
spent at my studio desk
trying the techniques I read about,
or practicing the ones I learned from others.
I am learning
[reminded]
THAT NOT ONE THING IS WASTED.
I am learning
what
I have to teach,
and
how
to
teach
it.
I am so glad that you do what you do. I don't think we ever want to stop learning. take care my friend. I think of you often.
ReplyDeleteyep...I think we learn something everyday...sometime almost every hour ...and when we soak it all in....oh it feels good like a bubble bath....
ReplyDeleteso keep learning....keep teaching.....xoxoxoxo
and I'll clean the erasers and the blackboard for you....well, only because I'm housekeeping this weekend :)
Fabulous Fabulous!!
ReplyDeleteYes, they say that you really learn a thing best by teaching it. But I also think that you sometimes learn best whilst teaching it. Oh, bother, does that sound like I meant the same thing? It's not.
What I mean is, when you really want to learn to do something, you should start teaching it. You may only ever be a coupla steps ahead of your 'students' but you are learning with them, and the memory and process of learning that thing is freshest in your mind, so you become the best-placed person to teach it.
We get so stuck up on needing qualifications or validations to prove that we're allowed to have the authority to teach, but all we need to do is learn what it is to be a good teacher, then authorize ourselves to teach whatever we want.
You are a teacher. You are perfectly placed, right here, right now, for this mission. Rock on, Sister.
{ok, this theory doesn't apply to teaching in the school system, which I have done, and it's all upside down and about-face there anyway ... so maybe it should!}
Whenever I teach something, I usually find that I learned something that I hadn't realized I learned before. Does that make sense? I don't know how else to put it. I've had to teach myself alot and my teacher is an idiot.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I almost forgot...I think Yoga is the way to go for me, too. I need slower moving exercise and all the other things that Yoga emcompasses as well.
ReplyDelete