PC#29 – A “teacher” wishing to learn

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Some of you might think you have things to learn from me.

Perhaps you do, but I have more things to learn from you.

Every person who posts on this blog, I learn from. In responding to posts, I learn. In observing interchanges between you, I learn. From Sister Clare, I learn. From Steve, I learn. I learn from all of you.

Each of you is a teacher – my teacher.

The Camino was the big teacher. And its lessons continue from afar.

Some of those lessons continue through you.

So thank you.

Bill

Bill with scarf

 

44 thoughts on “PC#29 – A “teacher” wishing to learn”

  1. There is no greater adventure than to teach, and to learn.

    And lord, I love that picture!!!

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      • Maybe not if the word is used as somewhat of an interjection?

        p.s. GreatDane = kitkatknit

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        • It is blasphemous to use the capital “L” for the lord unless we are referring to God Himself. Actually thats one of the ways we indicate who we are talking to, or about:human- lord;God–Lord.

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    • It could be that the file size is too large. It could be that there’s not a .jpg at the end of the file…

      Technology works in mysterious ways…

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      • The last one I tried was the one you posted tonight..Attempted it twice, both times it said download unsuccessful. Usually yours work. I like to use them as desktop wallpaper

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  2. I like the way the odd green of the scarf makes the odd red of the Swans cap pop, Bill.
    That is you, isn’t it?
    P.

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    • Haha – yes Peter, that’s me – a shot taken on the far north coast of Galicia.

      It was that same scarf I later took on the Camino. I’d bought it in a market in Delhi – genuine Pashmina – however I made the mistake of putting it through a washing machine and it shrunk!

      Bill

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  3. Totally agree with you Bill.
    Everyone here has been a source of inspiration for me.
    I love hearing peoples “stories”….
    I have been thinking a lot about this PGS family I have become apart of over the past few days and thinking about what it is that I love so much…..

    and although I cant quite express it in words very well.
    Its just the sense of acceptance…..a sense of trust …..a freedom to get out all those thoughts and emotions that the Camino stirs up inside your head and just let them be heard.
    Sometimes just saying them out loud (writing them into a blog) and knowing that someone is hearing/reading it…is all you need. To just be listened to.

    That is my learning from here……

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    • Hi Abbey –

      that’s wonderful, thank you.

      And in line with the blog today, already I’ve learnt a lot from you, and your posts.

      Often when I respond to a comment, it requires me to consider things I haven’t really given much thought to – and it forces me to take on a point of view, or to ask more questions – or to accept what’s in front of me. That’s where the learning comes in.

      Bill

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    • Dear Abbey, I too have found it hard to express, whether written or out loud, the sense of freedom with my Camino experiences this blog gives me … and your words just did!! Many thanks (and I don’t know how to insert a ‘smiley’ here, which drives me unhappily nuts!!)

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      • Thanks Bhasma….I often feel that my words and replies aren’t as well constructed as others. I am always in great amazement at the way people write on here. It is beautiful, sad, thought provoking and funny and above all else inspirational.

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        • Please don’t ever decide not to write because you’re worried about how you sound. Just take a deep breath, and start writing. We will always find ways to understand each other, and nobody is expected to be perfect.Think how boring that would be! Its everyone sharing their thoughts, and listening to each other with open hearts, that makes this blog such a safe and special place.

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        • Hi Abbey –

          Sister is right. Don’t ever try and edit yourself as you write.

          Just write straight from your heart, not your head. That’s what we love about your posts.

          Bill

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  4. As I am a teacher, I once saw something that really summed teaching and learning up for me – “When I stop learning from those I teach, it’s time for me to stop teaching.”. It’s all part of the Circle of Life, we learn and we teach. The best part about it is that we don’t have to be professional teachers to teach, or full time students to learn, we just need to be willing and open to the opportunities life throws at us each day to do both.

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    • So true-and another one of lifes beautiful give and take cycles that make being human such a rich experience. It reminded me of the other words recently written here, about walking the Camino.and experiencing the inhale, exhale rythm that drinks in the beauty of all the soul presence that surrounds you there. There is nothing you can do that has more power to change a life, than to teach,or to learn.

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  5. As a professional educator, my mantra for the past 40 years has been ” We are all teachers and we are all learners. Together we can work it out.” This is very liberating for a 7 year old who wants to explain something his way, knowing that others will listen and take from it what they need.
    I have also come to understand that teaching is not about the subject content. What we all need to learn is how to love, how to communicate effectively, how to value and respect each other, how to listen with empathy, how to trust and how to be resilient. Surely they are some of the lessons of life.
    Thank you to all who have taught me so much through Bill’s blog. I am seeing life through new eyes, asking different questions, letting go a lot of what I would have once held on to and trying to make time to connect with others.
    Blessings
    Anne

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    • Thank you Anne,for the wonderful compliment. This blog has become such rich ground for sharing and reaching out to each other. Its a privelege to come here every day.

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  6. The conversation today led me to recall the words written by Kahlil Gibran on teaching: “No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of our knowledge.
    The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
    If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”

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    • Julie!!! What beautiful words and so true to.

      I have a friend who has just become a Victor of his very first church. He started last week.
      And to me this seems very apt of how he is approaching his role there.
      Thank you for sharing this.

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  7. Bill, as usual, the photograph you choose is a striking illustration of your thoughts. Somehow you found a photo that illustrates humility…..

    My thoughts about Camino lessons? Collectively, the books and blogs I have read point to similar themes: Less is more. Whatever you need, the Camino will provide. In general, people are good. Communication is more than speaking the same language. We can always accomplish greater things than we can dream.

    But to me, what I feel is unspoken is that there is a process of emptying yourself before the Camino and during it, and this emptying serves to open our souls and create space for the experiences and lessons of the Camino itself.

    Again, love the picture.

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  8. Nope — little to learn, much to share.

    PS … my surname is Lord, so I’m quite dubious about the capitalisation rules proposed in here …

    PPS … I think one step closer, today, to starting a Camino, though I’m beginning to doubt my neighbour has the stomach for it.

    PPPS … trying to talk another neighbour and friend out of suicide … :^(

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    • I was watching a documentary on the Dalai Lama in Australia last night, and it was about his interaction with the aboriginal people here.

      The term that kept coming up was “sharing.” Sharing your story.

      So Julian, I agree with you.

      What I’m trying to do on this blog is provide an arena where people feel comfortable enough, and safe enough, to share. Share their views, share their experiences, share their fears.

      I’ve never professed to be the arbiter here, nor the teacher. Because I don’t know enough to teach.But I can share. And I can provide the opportunity for others to share.

      As for capitalizations, all I’ll say to that is repeat what a lady I knew in New Orleans used to say all the time Lordy Lord

      As for you starting your Camino, it seems now that you’re fixed in your resolve. Which is great. (I can’t wait to read your blogs!) 🙂 Your neighbour, if he or she bails, could then be seen as merely the instigator of your journey, not your companion along it.

      Disturbing to hear of your friend but you have the wisdom and compassion to be of enormous help to someone in that situation.

      Good luck with it. And my love to both of you.

      Bill

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  9. Sister, I tried the lord Lord distinction with my Mom when I was in high school. Got me nowhere.

    She was confident lord was just a lack of respect and attention to Lord. (This is years before the linquists decided all language can be reduced to four basic sentences and any variation only comes after you first have the original in your mind.) Of course Mom also said “Gosh” and other slang was simply a sign of lack on intellect. or a lazy mind. I guess she got her views naturally as she said her mom would not let them say “bull”. They had to say “male cow.”

    Yeah, this is the same mother Steve talks about, quoting her college yearbook “She’s so sharp she eats razor soup for breakfast”.

    She’s a lot more tolerant now that she’s 96 and living with me. I still WATCH IT though! Years of childhood training, I suppose. 🙂

    I keep trying to remember the words to an old song for you. “Lawdy, lawdy, lawdy Miss Claudy. etc. Great song from old rhythm and blues.

    Sister, your comments are always so provocative.Thought provoking and fun and so positive. Bill, thank you soooooo much for this delightful blog and these delightful people.

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    • Under the circumstances, I say this with gentle reserve, but in my copy of the King James version of the Bible, (which I assume is the same as all the other copies)throughout the New Testament, in all cases, lord is used to address a superior, or a noble, but Lord addresses Christ. I have seen ancient copies where there is an occasional error in addressing Jesus and the small l is used. Blame it on the monk doing the original illumination, I guess.If you decide to mention this to your mother, although perhaps sleeping dogs should be let to lie, preface it with the fact that my great grandfather was a Methodist minister, and its his Bible I am using.

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      • Excellent reference. Actually, Mom would correct us on anything that seemed to fuzz the edges of taking the Lord’s name in vain. We’ve broken her in over the years. We were raised to high standards of conduct mixed with great tolerance for others and others perspectives. How lucky to have that Bible. I’m sure you treasure it. Mom has her father’s Bible. He died in 1919 when she was 18 months old. All the pages are loose and the margins are full of his notes. I’ve never read them as the book is hers and so very fragile. Maybe someday, we need to scan the pages so we can read without damaging the original. Now that would be a project!

        I guess you can tell, your comments always inspire me.

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        • The date in my Bible is 13June 1886 It was presented to my great grandfather on the occasion of his ordination, and like yours, has margin notes in his tiny handwriting, red ink. Its also suffering from loose pages and inside tears on the cover, but its the only ‘relic’ I have from my family, so its a great treasure. Its the version that has the old Methodist hymns in the back. I am a confirmed bibliophile- I have a Kindle and love its storage capacity, but for me you can never replace the tactile pleasure and smell of a book.

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          • So very true. The digital world cannot replace the touch of paper, the turn of a page, the weight and texture. I haven’t succumbed to the Kindle or Ipad yet, thought the time is close. They will at least enable you still to curl up on a rainy day and read– or so I hope. Instead, I’m sitting at a laptop right now listening to the drops fall behind my head. Not the same.

            The scan advantage is the ability to share the contents among all family members who care. I have old photographs my Mom’s cousin scanned and shared with us all. When I was a little girl, my maternal grandmother gave me a postcard collection from 1900 – 1912 when post cards were the thing to send in pre-Hallmark Card days. Each has a message from some family member to another. I scanned those back and front and passed the digital versions to all the family who wanted them. And still can. The originals are precious but I wanted to share the joy of bringing a little light to each of us of the lives and personalities that came and went before us. It a step through the looking glass into another world. Until computers and scanners, the cards were only mine.

            My cousin got the other half of the collection, but her mother, in cleaning house, made her throw them away. We are cousins through her dad and my mom. Is was a thoughtless discard, I think — cleanliness is next to Godliness sort of thing. By scanning, my cousin now at least has a copy of mine.

            Again, Sister, the things you share on this blog are so inspiring and so precious. Thank you for those gifts.

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          • Gifts are of no value unless there is someone willing to receive them, so its me that owes thanks to everyone who reads this blog and finds what I say interesting or useful!

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