To teach. To lead. To guide. To share all that I've been studying and practicing for so many years. To speak to a lifetime of wisdom and experience. To instruct. To educate. To discipline. To inspire.
I remember some of my first teacher's words...as she encouraged us to set an intention. As she assured us that the energy will follow whatever intention it is that we set. I'm not sure I believed. I'm not sure I could. But I - somehow - found 'just enough' trust in that process to follow along with that thought.
Quickly - I learned that this intention is not meant to be measured in achievement - in a goal we set and attain...or a destination at which we ultimately arrive. The goals I'd set...I'd attain. And more often than not - I'd find myself at that set destination and then ask - what's next?
This intention - about which she spoke - was about how it is we wish to feel...to dream...to hope...to change and grow. It was about how it is we meet and greet each new day. It was about connecting to whatever it is that yearns to burn so brightly. It was about our personal expressions. It was about our 'becoming'.
I was a good student. I learned to show-up regularly and routinely. I learned how to tune out...so that I could tune in. I learned that by focusing my forever-perseverating mind on that just one thing...that there was quiet...and calm...and center...and ground. I learned to move. I learned to be still. I learned to balance my good and my bad...my wildest dreams and worst nightmares...my right and my left...my softness and my strength...my creativity and my discipline - as one.
Very very slowly - the old patterns that had worn such deep grooves in my brain - replaced themselves with new ones. That old belief that 'practice makes perfect'...evolved into something new. Practice makes'practiced'. It makes 'proficient'. It makes 'strong'.
And - what does it mean to 'be practiced'?
For each person - it's different...it's personal...it's uniquely their own. For me - it is knowing that with each and every breath...I begin. It is understanding that so much of everything in life is about simply showing up...being present...alive and awake and alert and aware. It is accepting and embracing. It is about feeling...and trusting....and knowing that this is just what it is.
A life full of practice...a practice in living a full life.
My turn now - to pay it forward. To teach. To lead. To guide. To share all that I've been studying and practicing for so many years. To speak to a lifetime of wisdom and experience. To instruct. To educate. To discipline. To inspire.
In my classroom - I will be teaching from the seat of the student. There will be no right or wrong...no successes or failures. We'll show up. We'll face our fears. We'll meet up with our resistance. We'll stretch. We'll grow. We'll sometimes fall...and we'll always pick ourselves right back up again. We'll try easy. And we will become strong.
There will be no prizes or trophies or little gold stars. There will be no goals or destinations.
In this classroom - there will be nothing other than the deepest of respect...the kindest of words...the gentlest of encouraging affirmations. It will be all about the journey and from where we each and everyone begin.
The 'subject' of study?
It's YOU...and we'll begin within.