You Never Really Know

     It's been such a crazy week I haven't really had much time to think about things (weird, for me!) but I sat down at the keyboard this morning to try to write something for this blog because I believe it's important for me right now to do this regularly and it's been a couple days since I posted anything. As I sit here, I'm distracting myself with the Book of Faces and a spider solitaire game instead of trying to meditate on what I might like to write about, but somewhere under the surface of my thoughts things must be brewing anyway because it just came to me that I've relearned a couple of huge life lessons this week.
     The one that strikes me most strongly is how important it is not to judge others, even when you really want to because categorizing makes you feel safer in an uncertain world and, especially, categorizing others in an "inferior" category and yourself in a "superior" one makes you feel both safer and better about yourself! But the truth is, if one stays open to possibility, it is possible to learn so much from the "inferior" others.
     Observing, trying to be helpful to others in a caring, mindful way, and then sitting back to meditate occasionally on what has been happening in our lives can all be difficult to do, given the frenetic pace the society we live in seems to move at. But so much can be gained from not giving in the to siren song of "I want more and I want it now!" that plays in various keys all around us, not least of which is greater understanding - and thus peace with and control over - our own motivations.
     So there I was earlier this week, thinking I was helping a young friend through a personal crisis and hoping I could impart some wisdom that would help her to have a smoother ride on the road ahead of her. I was feeling all wise and secure in my aged wisdom. Sure, I felt bad for her pain, but at least I was much too old and sagacious to fall into the same sort of situation myself!
     Smugness never becomes me for very long. As I sit here this morning, I realize I am still motivated by the same feelings she has been suffering through and, what's more, had nowhere near the same insight and ability to deal with them at her age that she has displayed to me! I was blown away by the level of understanding of herself and her situation she showed to me in our talk last night and how quickly she seems to be bouncing back from some very devastating emotional turmoil.
     So now I'm thinking perhaps I should call her this evening to talk about something in my life that's been bothering me a lot lately. After all, does it really matter if we get to be the teacher or the student as long as we're all trying to learn together?