Everyone Is Your Teacher

A few months ago a client of mine shared something with me that made me stop and think. It was one of those moments where I went back into my minds eye and relived a past, not so pleasant experience and some pleasant experiences. She said to me, “everyone you meet in your life is your teacher.” What she meant by that was, regardless of the person, situation or even yourself, they’re your teacher and there is something to learn. A few months ago I had just finished up some grocery shopping and could not wait to get home to cook dinner relax and call it a day. I had just loaded my car with my groceries and looked at my watch thinking, I need to get home by 5:30pm so I can at least have an early dinner. I don’t like eating past 6:30pm because I’m so rushed doing all my nightly rituals to prep for the next day. I want to be in bed by 9pm so I can read, relax and go to sleep. As I got into my car I turned on my music, buckled up, looked over my shoulder and started to back out of the parking lot when I quickly stepped on the brakes as a woman came racing by me honked her horn repeatedly. Understand that I don’t read lips or know sign language, however I could read her lips pretty clearly and she was not singing the latest hit song off the radio. Finally, she proceeded and took the parking spot three cars up from me. I remember saying to myself, “ there’s was no way I’m letting this chick get off without giving her some helpful tips on patience being a virtue. I backed out of the parking spot I was in and I pulled up in back of her car. I could see that she was taking longer than normal to exit her car so I looked at my watch. I watched the woman from the inside of my tinted car windows and I could see that she was fumbling for something. I sat and waited for what seemed like a lifetime, when in reality 2 minutes had passed. Finally, she stepped out of her car and I rolled down my window and she looked at me as if she had just seen a ghost. I said to her, I’m sorry, I didn’t see your car coming.” She looked at me and paused for about 3 seconds and said, “that’s ok” and she quickly made her way to the grocery store without looking back. The 2 minutes I waited for her to exit her car gave me enough time to take a quick refresher crash course in “patience is a virtue.” I realized that perhaps this woman had a bad day and she too just wanted to get her shopping done quickly and get home to relax. The moral of the story is whether you’re rushed to get somewhere, don’t have patience or are trying to loose weight, it will require some patience and your experience will teach you.