When we are young, we are labeled and identified as “student.” It is thrust upon us, forcing us to fit into a mold that we spend our formative years of life escaping from; we have no choice.
If we aren’t good students, then we become defiant and rebellious. Desperate to find another way, to reveal our truth. The master of our destinies.
If we are good students, then we conform to the expectations of others. We may step into who we really are or simply travel the path someone else reveals for us. They become the master of our destinies.
At some point in our lives, we shed our student identity and reject any external attempt to label us as students.
As we grow older, we have a choice to become a student again. We can submit willingly to learn from the wisdom of others. But we also can become students of ourselves. The dance between the external and internal world is awkward and beautiful.
It is in this embrace of being a student that we learn a new way of being. To be a student means:
- You have teachers, externally and internally.
- You are willing to admit humbly your ignorance and desire to learn.
- You are open to correction, even if you don’t like it.
- You accept the consequences of your action and inaction.
- You embrace the learning journey, which looks a lot like the journey of our lives, as a trip with no end apart from death.