I have mixed emotions about being a student sometimes. The title gives people a different way to
look at me and it gives me a different way to look at the world. There are so many ways to learn—observation,
books, experience, listening, writing, etc.—and though none is better than any
of the others, some are easier to embrace than others.
These days, I’m learning how to be comfortable as an
observer, which is hard because I want to be able to ‘do’ things. However, my task is to watch how things are
done and soak it up, learning through osmosis rather than by being active in
the process. As someone who likes to
help, I have to learn to sit on my hands and bite my tongue to allow processes
to naturally occur, and this takes significant self-control.
I've enjoyed the title of ‘student,’ also, because it gives
me permission to limit the things I volunteer to do. People are willing to accept when I say I
cannot do something because I need to do my ‘job’ as a student. As someone who likes to be active in my
communities, I have had to learn how to be okay with telling people “no” when I
simply cannot add one more thing, even though I really, really want to say “yes.” This is teaching me balance and how to
prioritize.
I think that being a student is something we all do as we
walk our individual paths in life. We
continually learn more about our abilities and inabilities and find ways to do
things we never thought we would be capable doing, sometimes out of necessity,
but also out of a desire to learn. Each
day presents opportunities to learn more about living lives in communities,
setting expectations, planning, organizing, planting and growing within
ourselves and with others. We lean on
people who will help us become more—even those people who challenge our sensibilities
and our drive—and we hold those who need the same from us.
O Great Teacher, let me lean on you when learning makes me
weary, let me feel your embrace when learning makes me weak, let me experience
your joy as I learn more about myself as a student in life and let me praise
you for all the opportunities you give me each day to learn.
Amen.