Our Teachers

Every one of us is here alone (but not necessarily lonely). We live among other people and yet all the great challenges of life we have to face alone. Our friends and people we keep close can support and give us the courage we need in our journey. Circumstances often take us on some rough rides but the greatest lessons are given to us by other people. Our life is about relationships with people. Some are strangers and just visitors in our lives and some are here to stay longer with us.

Our life is about learning new sides to and issues about ourselves. The things in our lives are purely about us. The people we meet, the situations we face—they are not coincidences or pure chance. They have a meaning for us and help us to get to know ourselves better. Still, it is up to us to do the work and learn the lessons. Often we are ignorant and seem to repeat the same patterns. We realize this when similar kinds of things happen to us. For example, we might get involved with the same type of people all the time—and they get us into trouble. Or we seem to struggle with our bosses in each and every new job we have. These things will happen to us until we acknowledge the pattern and learn from our behavior and actions. Then we are up to new challenges.

Other people play an important role in our lives. They are the mirrors for us. They interact with us and give us the test bed for getting to know our different sides and even hidden talents and emotions. People, through their behavior and actions, show us who we really are—and it should not be any big surprise that often we are the last people to see the reality. Just check with your closest friends—they may describe your other side if you only let them.

We get angry and frustrated with other people easily. They are the ones to blame. Why are we agitated? Why should their behavior concern us? Other people's problems or bad behavior are not our problem. So there is no reason to get emotional. Unless there is something in us that knows that they have revealed or awakened some hidden issues in us, such as ego, selfishness, laziness, greed for power, hypocrisy, and so on. Naturally we do not like to be reminded of those darker sides of us. We cannot stand it, and we blame others. As long as we have these issues with ourselves, we will need other people because we are not voluntarily working with ourselves.

Therefore, each human interaction and moment in our life is a new opportunity for us: to learn more about ourselves and become better human beings. Every person you meet is most of all teaching you about yourself. You only have to be humble and open-minded to realize the messages. Remember to thank the people around you. You don't have to say anything—just smile and love your neighbor. He or she is your greatest teacher.