My Spiritual Journey Day 8

 

Sirach 4

Wisdom as a Teacher

Wisdom takes care of those who look for her; she raises them to greatness. Loving her is loving life itself; rising early to look for her is pure joy. Anyone who obtains Wisdom will be greatly honoured. Wherever he goes, the Lord will bless him. Wisdom's servants are the servants of the Holy One, and the Lord loves everyone who loves her. Those who obey her will give sound judgements; those who pay attention to her have true security. Put your trust in Wisdom, and you will possess her and pass her on to your descendants. At first, Wisdom will lead you along difficult paths. She will make you so afraid that you will think you cannot go on. The discipline she demands will be tormenting, and she will put you to the test with her requirements until she trusts you completely. Then she will come to you with no delay, reveal her secrets to you, and make you happy. But if you go astray, she will abandon you and let you go to your own ruin.

If you are planning for a year, sow rice; 
if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; 

if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.
- Chinese Proverb

Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today. I am an awakener not a teacher. I believe that the art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. 

Early 70s, when I was in Middle School my studies were discontinued due to family crisis. My Mom's right side was paralyzed and being an eldest child had to shoulder the responsibility of babysitting my youngest brother. But for the insistence of the Headmistress of the Sacred Heart Girls' School, a convent run by the Bethany Order, I would never have returned back to School.  The best part was that all the teachers discovered my love of learning, they in turn gave me tuitions staying back after school hours without expecting any financial gains. Though I had missed out three fourth year of my studies by then, with their collected efforts, I cleared my Board Exam (we had Board exams back then in the 70s for Middle School) scoring 1st Class marks!

I am filled with gratitude to each one my teachers for their selfless personal interest, love, enthusiasm, care and patience and for all their great lessons which to me are still amazing even today. If I can write with such fluency, it is only because of the three loves that the teachers possess: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together. They helped me shape my future and made me what I am today. I feel so fortunate to have been placed in their classes. It was so noble of them. Except for one or two teachers who I meet these days who are quite in their advancing age, rest of our beloved teachers and the Headmistress are no more. May their souls rest in eternal peace 🙏. 

Each one of them are special to me in moulding my future as they were amazing who inspired me daily and for that I am thankful because they all are truly wonderful teachers. As a teacher they gave me the tools I needed to face my future.

I had to struggle for my education, so we made sure that our only child received the best of education. He is well settled with God's abundant blessings. Often times I feel that he is wiser than me as I learn a lot from him. I am thankful to the Almighty God for letting wisdom enter our lives, guiding us all every step of our way, in order to fulfill my dreams through our son❤️.

To quote William Arthur Ward:

The mediocre teacher tells. 
The good teacher explains. 
The superior teacher demonstrates. 
The great teacher inspires.
 
Jesus is our best Teacher🙏

Good night friends 😇