Teaching feels good!

I've often found it interesting why people feel compelled to teach.As a younger man, the most abundant teachers around me it seemed were school teachers, many but not all for whom teaching just seemed like a job (or had turned that way).My response upon sensing this was usually hostile: "This is a complete waste of time.Why are we going through this charade?!?" Another example is when I was in the boys brigade (a bit like the scouts) which had some leaders in it who thought they could teach you how to be, yet they weren't living to their highest selves at the time.Not suprisingly I didn't last there very long, despite many repeated attemps to make me conform to what everybody did.Don't take this as a generalisation, of course, it is just my personal experience in those particular situatons at those times.I'm sure many of us have had similar experiences, and some different.
And so at school, because it was mandatory to attend, I did the least that had to be done (in my own mind) and just got through it, until I could get out of the system as soon as possible (which I did!).You know those "I can't wait until I'm older' thoughts.

These days, now that I am older, my perception towards teachers is so different.Or rather than different, it's more that I've actually come across true teachers who are shining brightly.
It's hard to explain, but I've kind of kept a radar tracking of this, over the last few years, as to how teachers have affected and moulded me.And you know what, I can honestly say that I wouldn't be a slither of who I am today were it not for those teachers.In fact, consulting the radar and the inner map tracking, I can probably say that I would not exist.Profound? yes! Completely brutally honest? yes! Absolutely liberating? YES! Feels good? Of course! :)

To know that I wouldn't exist as who I am if it were not for people who bestowed their wisdom is a blessing.I'm grateful for having kept that inner radar tracking, that one day I became aware of the affect and thought to myself: "I better monitor this" I don't know why I felt compelled to do that, but it was like an inner voice saying that I need to be aware of the affect of those teachers, so I could be in this new place of utter gratitude.

This brings me onto the question of why do they teach? And the answer to that is, because it feels good! Personally I used to say to myself "I'm never going to teach, to give people advice" because I had in mind the memory of false teachers doing it just for the job or because they were simply big headed boasters.I'm not a big headed boaster, nor someone who just does a job for the sake of it, without a passion.Therefore, to teach it seemed, went against my nature.No way would I put onto others that which was so distastefully put upon me.Not that my whole experience was bad, but much, much too much of it was 'waste' and I abhor waste.Of course, in a sense, the contrast of false teachers gave me the ability to see what a true teacher was.And so I'm actually, in a way, very grateful for it all.That wasteland was the space where I was laying my foundations for a full life.Now I am comfortable to share advice, bestow wisdom, share my experiences to help others, because I know that when I am doing that, it feels good, it feels like the right thing to do.It is all born out of feeling good first.Having realised the profound impact that teachers have had on me, it would be totally unacceptable if I were not to teach others whenever it feels right to do so.There is nothing egotistical about it, and when done with a passion and a good feeling, it is, I believe, essential to our individual progress.

Whilst thinking on this subject, an image came to mind illustrating this process.Think of life as though you were in a hot air balloon, rising ever higher and higher to new perspectives.But at first, when you start, you're tied to the ground with ropes.Other's may cut some of the ropes for you, but ultimately you must cut the last rope to set you free.You then slowly rise, however you are weighed down by weights which hang beneath the balloon.See these as a metaphor for those you need to teach.As you teach people, the weights fall off and you rise to a new perspective.If we do not teach, then we will not rise higher than where we are.We can contemplate and observe and wonder about where we are presently for as long as we want, but we will not rise any further.Those weights will always be there.People say 'don't let other people drag you down.'The answer is to release them, to show them the way.You can ignore them and act as though you're satisfied and that you do not desire a higher perspective, that you're perfectly happy with where you are.How long you keep that facade up is down to you.

Teach, share, inspire, set them free, fly!