Education and Experience

Unknown Author

There is a difference between education and experience.

Education is what you get from reading the small print.

Experience is what you get from not reading it! 

But isn't it true that great learning comes from both education and experience? 

Let me tell you a parable:

A young school teacher had a dream that an angel appeared to him and said, "You will be given a child who will grow up to become a world leader. How will you prepare her so that she will realize her intelligence, grow in confidence, develop both her assertiveness and sensitivity, be open—minded, yet strong in character? In short, what kind of education will you provide that she can become one of the world's truly GREAT leaders?"

The young teacher awoke in a cold sweat. It had never occurred to him before —any ONE of his present or future students could be the person described in his dream. Was he preparing them to rise to ANY POSITION to which they may aspire? He thought, 'How might my teaching change if I KNEW that one of my students were this person?'  

He gradually began to formulate a plan in his mind:

·         This student would need experience as well as instruction.

·         She / he would need to know how to solve problems of various kinds.

·         She / he would need to grow in character as well as knowledge.

·         She / he would need self assurance as well as the ability to listen well and work with others.

·         She / he would need to understand and appreciate the past, yet feel optimistic about the future.

·         She / he would need to know the value of lifelong learning in order to keep a curious and active mind.

·         She / he would need to grow in understanding of others and become a student of the spirit.

·         She/ he would need to set high standards for herself and learn self discipline, yet  would also need love and encouragement, that they might be filled with love and goodness.

His teaching changed. Every young person who walked through his classroom became, for him, a future world leader. He saw each one, not as they were, but as they could be. He expected the best from his students, yet tempered it with compassion. He taught each one as if the future of the world depended on his instruction.

After many years, a woman he knew rose to a position of world prominence.  He realized that she must surely have been the girl described in his dream. 

It turned out she was not one of his students, but rather his daughter. For all the various teachers in her life, her father was the best. 

I've heard it said that "Children are living messages we send to a time and place we will never see." But this isn't simply a parable about an unnamed school teacher. It is a parable about you and me —whether or not we are parents or even teachers.

And the story, OUR story, actually begins like this:

"You will be given a child who will grow up to become...."  You finish the sentence.

If not a world leader, then a superb father?

An excellent teacher?

A gifted healer?

An innovative problem solver?

An inspiring artist?

A generous philanthropist?

Where and how you will encounter this child is a mystery. But believe that one child's future may depend upon influence only you can provide, and something remarkable will happen. For no young person will ever be ordinary to you again. And you will never be the same.

Dualistic level of Reality

A Spanish tale

Once there was a Meeting of tools—Hammer, Screw, Sand paper, The Tape and The Saw—to fix their differences.

Head of the meeting was Hammer. But it was decided by all other members that he had to resign. Reason? He was too noisy and pounding all the time. Everyone wanted the Screw to be the Head.

Hammer accepted the verdict about himself but he wanted Screw also to resign. Reason? They had to make him do many turns to perform one single act. So he recommended Sand paper to be the Head.

Screw accepted the verdict about himself but he wanted Sand paper also to resign. Why? Because he was very rough in the treatment. According to him, The tape was the best choice for Heading the meeting.

Sand paper accepted the verdict about himself but he wanted The Tape also to resign. Why? Because he always spent time measuring others according to his level, as if he were the only one perfect.

At that moment came in the carpenter, put on the apron and started his work. He created an an attractive furniture out of the country wood using The Hammer, The Sand Paper, The Tape, The Saw and The Screw. 

When the carpenter finished the work, the assembly restarted its deliberation. It was then The Saw took the floor and said, “Gentlemen, all of you spoke about our defects, but the carpenter made use of our best qualities.  That makes us valuable.  So let's stop contemplating on our bad points and let's concentrate in the usefulness of our good points.” 

The assembly then realised that:

The Hammer was strong.

The Screw joined and gave reinforcement.

The Sand Paper polished and filed down roughness.

The Tape helped to be precise and exact.

We live in a dualistic level of reality. The fact that there exists ‘yin and yang’, ‘day and night’ in life, confirms that everything in this world exists at dualistic level. These dualities exist in ourselves too in the form of joy and sorrow, success and failure, inspiration and depression, likes and dislikes, etc.

Wisdom lies in exploring this duality and allowing life to flow moment to moment, exactly as it is intended, embracing both positive and negative with open arms.

Ego or Pride?

Is there any distinction between ego & pride at all? Are they synonymous?

Pride as such is a positive and healthy feeling if practiced in the right sense. One can be proud of his country, his nation, his parents, his off-springs, his family…………

Ego creeps in when these feelings turn to the extreme to say that all the rest is nothing in front of these.

This is the thin wall that separates both.

Look at these 2 stories that illustrate this perception.

While at sail a Captain of a steamship heard a distress call.

“Captain, Captain you must alter your course by 10 degrees, you are in danger of collision.” 

The Captain replied, “I am captain of a mighty steamship sound and sturdy, I say to you, if my path endangers you, you should alter your course, I will not.” 

The voice once again cried out, “Captain! Captain! You must take heed and change your course by twenty degrees; you are in danger of collision.” 

The captain replied, “I am at sail and will not change. I steer a mighty and fierce steam ship.”

The voice replied, “Yes you may steer a steamship, but I am a lighthouse.”

This is the EGO of the captain. The Ego which might’ve led to his fall.

Now look at another story

A turtle who was very talkative once overheard the plan of two hunters who schemed to catch turtles the very next day. The turtle turned to two cranes for help to elude the conspiracy of the hunters. It weaved a plan where in the cranes were to hold a long stick at their ends between their beaks.

The turtle was to close its mouth tightly in the middle of the stick so that it would be carried away to a safe distance when the birds make their flight.

The cranes agreed to the idea and asked the turtle to hold the stick firmly. The cranes took off with their flight with the turtle dangling in the middle of the stick. When the birds were up high in the air with the turtle, people from below were awe struck about the strange sight.

They exclaimed "What clever birds! A brilliant idea to carry a turtle!"

The proud turtle who could not contain himself shouted out "The idea is mine!", only to tumble from above to land on the earth.

It was the PRIDE of the turtle which caused its fall.

The more one feeds the ego, the more it grows.

Pride is more steadfast.

But……. it is evident that both need to be controlled. And the antidote is humility. When the ego and pride are dropped and the outlook embraces humility, a new light is thrown on the perception. Humility paves the way to move forward with confidence and self respect.

Life is telling us here to stop for a moment and look at it in a new perspective with humility, not to allow ego and pride to control us so that we become more successful in leading a peaceful and happy life.

Myriad people in our life

There was once a potter in a village. He was very well known for the exquisite pottery that he created. These pots had asymmetrical golden lines in them that added splendour to the pots. Each creation that way was exclusive one. Never similar! How did the potter create those exclusive golden lines? Apparently the potter broke the pots into pieces once they were done and then put it back together with gold filigree. And they turned out to be exclusive and exquisite creations!

In our daily life we come across myriad personalities. Hassled ones, angry ones, egoistic ones, always-with-sad-face ones, never smiling ones, confused ones, etc.....on the one side. Cool dudes, humble ones, cheerful ones, very clear and focussed ones, ever smiling ones, embodiments of serenity, loving ones, pious ones, etc..........on the other side.

Both lists go on.

Our life too is akin to the potter and his creations. The potter is the Creator and we are the pottery work created.

But there is one significant difference.

Here the potter himself breaks his creations. But in our life creator sends some people to break us. They are the former variety. They discourage and make us cynical at times. The latter ones are those that put us back again. But how? With golden filigree of their positivity that adds exquisiteness to our personalities. They turn our lives into unique creation. Yes, each of us is unique, exclusive and exquisite.

But the point here is that the Creator does not send the former range too for no reason. They are meant to teach us great lessons.

Hassled ones teach us to be patient,

Angry ones—to be cool and loving,

Egoistic ones—to be humble,

Never smiling ones—to be cheerful,

Confused ones—to be focussed.

So it turns out that all those myriad people in our life, both positive and negative ones, are meant to make us into masterpieces. We, the exclusive masterpieces, created by others in our life! How wonderful!

Let's be generous and give credit to all those who break us too. There are others who can put us back and give us a gorgeous face-lift! Ultimately we are the winners.

Isn’t that a splendid way of looking at life?

Sensible teamwork

Once there was a family of mother, father, their 4 sons and the 4 daughters-in law all living together.

All 4 daughters-in law were good but there was always clash--whose responsibility it is to do what house work.

One day the mother-in law decided to end this problem by assigning proper responsibilities. So she called all 4 of them and said:
“I know you are all very good and you don't shy from responsibilities; but since the responsibilities are not clear, you have misunderstanding. Lets now define the responsibilities.

One of you – will prepare the food
2nd one – will arrange the dining table
3rd one – will serve the food
4th one – will clean the utensils and dining table

When each one of you finished your job you will announce so that the next person will do the next job.

And every week we will rotate these responsibilities.”

All of them said it is good idea and agreed.

The next day :
The first daughter in law prepared the food and when she finished she informed, “food is prepared.”

The second daughter in law arranged the food in the table and announced, “food is arranged in table and everybody come to eat.”

The 3rd daughter in law started serving the food and she announced, "food is served.”

The 4th daughter in law collected all the plates and utensils from the table and cleaned them and said, “the utensils and dining table is cleared.”

The mother-in law was dumb stuck.

Though all of them performed their duties and responsibilities, the end result was no one ate anything and the food was a complete waste.

Lesson? It is not just adequate to divide the responsibilities but sensible teamwork is very important to make things work.

YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Dedicated to all teachers on this Teachers day in India, 5th Sept, 2014


Just when she was about to give up teaching profession because she thought her teaching wasn't even changing or helping even one child, her mind was completely changed one day.

When she went to school the next day, one of her first grader's parent came to her and just fell into her arms and cried out, "THANK YOU."

The mother explained that her child had ADHD (the teacher had already discovered that) and no one had the patience to teach or just love her for who she was. She told the teacher that she made a difference in her daughter's life, just by showing that she cared and for having patience with her. The child showed interest in studies when she was with her, but her other teachers constantly condemned her because they couldn't control her.

What a compliment!

Needless to say she is still continuing on with her teaching profession.

Dear teachers, sometimes it may seem like people have forgotten how important you really are.

For every child that says, “I’m not smart enough”, “I don’t get it”, “I can’t”…… there’s a teacher who says, “You can!”

For every child who needs basic skills, knowledge, someone to believe in him……….. there’s a teacher who will do whatever it takes to encourage, to motivate, to challenge, to engage, to inspire and instill a love for learning.

So for every teacher who works with the children building a better future for us, even when it feels like no one is watching or that people have forgotten just how special you teachers really are, I SALUTE YOU!

AND I THANK YOU for teaching each child to become the next great author, artist, scientist, architect, musician, doctor, engineer or teacher.

Never give up, if you teach from the heart, you may not realize it at that precise moment..........
BUT YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE.

God's Family

By Steve Goodier www.LifeSupportSystem.com

An old story is told of two men who went fishing in a small boat. The day was uneventful until one of them hooked a huge fish, which, in the struggle, pulled him overboard. He couldn't swim and began to panic.

"Help!" he yelled. "Save me!"

The friend reached over and grabbed the man by the hair to pull him closer to the boat. But when he tugged, the man's toupee came off and he slipped down under the water again.

He came up shouting, "Hey, help me! I can't swim!"

So the friend reached down again and this time latched onto the struggling man's arm. But when he pulled, the arm came off! It was an artificial limb.

The drowning man continued to kick and thrash around and his friend reached out a third time. This time he grabbed a leg and pulled. You guessed it -- a wooden leg.

The man continued splashing and sputtering and calling out, "Help me!" until his friend finally called back in disgust, "How can I help you if you won't stick together?"

And that is a metaphor for each of us.

How can people in marriages and families stand a chance when they won't stick together?
How can religious communities, civic groups, schools and businesses get anywhere when they won't stick together?
And how can a nation or even our global village function well when it won't stick together?

Archbishop Desmond Tutu put it this way:
“We are made for goodness.
We are made for love.
We are made for friendliness.
We are made for togetherness.
We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know.
We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders.
All are welcome: black, white, red, yellow,
rich, poor, educated, not educated,
male, female, all, all, all.
We all belong to this family, this human family, God's family.”

First secret of success--Believe in yourself

– by Steve Goodier, www.lifesupportsystem.com

Adam was ready to retire. His wife Anna, however, was less enthusiastic.

As she explained to a friend, "Adam has never done anything that required physical exertion. He never played golf, mowed the lawn or even washed the windows. When he retires, he will sit in his easy chair and expect me to bring him his food."

But to Anna's surprise, soon after her husband retired, he joined a health club. And one night, when Adam arrived home from exercise class, he announced, "I signed up for the wrestling tournament. I am going to wrestle Friday night."

Anna was shocked. "Please don't do it, Adam," she begged. "You're not in shape. You will be so beat up they will have to carry you home!"

However, he couldn't be dissuaded and she told him that if he went through with his "lame idea," she was not going to watch.

True to her word, she stayed away that Friday evening as Adam wrestled.

And just as she predicted, two men practically carried Adam home. He lay down on the couch, every muscle strained and bruised.

Before she could speak, he sputtered, "Don't say a word, Anna! This is not the worst of it. I won tonight. I have to wrestle again tomorrow night!"

As Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said, "People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success."

Words can hurt or heal

Sathya Sai Baba, My Dear Students, Vol 5, Ch 2, Mar 9, 1993.

You eat food daily, take in thousands of grains! Have you ever calculated how many rice grains you have consumed? However the moment one minute stone comes in the rice you eat, you are very unhappy that day and complain that your food has stones.

Similarly your life is three fourths happiness and one fourth sorrow. But you become a victim to sorrow. You choose to give more importance to sorrow than happiness. This is an animal quality (Pashu Lakshanam).

Teach your tongue not to lose its reputation by following the wrong path.

Your tongue is capable of raising you to Divine or droop to that of an animal.

If someone is good to you, the tongue praises them as God Himself. If someone harms you, the tongue then equates them to an animal. Teach your tongue to ever chant the Name of the Lord and never to criticize anybody!

Naxalites (terrorists) are not merely the people who hold guns and pistols. Anyone who hurts others in thoughts, words and deeds is a naxalite.

Three important things that all of you must pay attention to are your thoughts, words and deeds. When there is a thought, the word follows and then the body acts. In the arena of thoughts, never think evil of others.

Next is word. Never use harsh words, do not humiliate others and never try to deceive others with your words. If one is killed with a knife or a pistol, they die immediately. But if you hurt a person with words, he or she will be pained till their death.

Medicines exist for all external injuries, however no medicine or doctor can heal the wound or injury inflicted through words.

Therefore the harm done by words is more dangerous and takes a long time to heal. Spiritual ways alone can alter the harm done by thoughts, words and deeds

A rare conversation between Ramkrishna Paramahansa Swami Vivekanand

Author Unknown. Received in mailbox.

Swami Vivekanand:- I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.

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Swami Vivekanand:- Why has life become complicated now?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Stop analyzing life.. It makes it complicated. Just live it.

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Swami Vivekanand:- Why are we then constantly unhappy?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.

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Swami Vivekanand:- Why do good people always suffer?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer.

With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.

Swami Vivekanand:- You mean to say such experience is useful?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

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Swami Vivekanand:- In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

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Swami Vivekanand:- What surprises you about people?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- When they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me?”

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Swami Vivekanand:- How can I get the best out of life?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

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Swami Vivekanand:- One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

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