Encouraging Trust
To me the best teachers are the ones we find upon reflection, looking back over our lives. Sometimes there were people who may not have even been in our lives very long but something they did or said managed to stick with us for a lifetime, forever influencing who we continue to be.
A quote from John Trudell came up the other day. “Don't trust anyone who wants to be the leader.” Even though the quote is about people who want to be leaders, it made me reflect on my own discomfort with the label of teacher, as well as those who want that label.
I think there is a calling, and I do have great respect for those who are called to help teach our children, but maybe that’s it. I’m coming from a paradigm where your child’s school teachers ‘help’ teach your children.
We as parents have the responsibility to also be their teachers. One of the most valuable lessons we can help them with is how to help themselves. Teaching our children how to be accountable and responsible for the information that they feed their minds, hearts, and spirits is essential.
As I look around me I can’t help but wonder if maybe that isn't one of the struggles our culture has. I think as children most of us weren’t taught these things and that now as adults we are numb to the idea of being personally accountable for everything we allow to nest into our being.
When we are not responsible for what we take in, we are also missing the part of us where we can trust ourselves without checking in with others. As adults too many of us are chasing validation and I am uncomfortable with those who are too eager to step in and offer that validation. Validation is a band aid. We need to learn how to help ourselves. We need to learn how to trust ourselves. It is a gift to be able to trust that great guidance and wisdom is constantly being given to us by ancestors, spirits, and guides. We are connected to the universe in countless ways. It is a gift we should have been given as children because it was always there.
(old pic of me & the kids)
