Many years ago I was having problems with a co-worker. When he arrived into my department took him under my wing and showed him the ropes, we were on the same shift when he started. We worked together for about a year then we went to different shifts and worked apart for a few years.
A few years ago we wound up on the same shift by this time he had developed a reputation as being slow and not too bright. My patience wore thin quickly because it seemed like he hadn’t learned a thing since we changed shifts.
It actually got to the point where we established the 8 o’clock rule. We were on day shift and we started work at 6 in the morning. I developed a reputation as well of being extra grumpy in the morning and was quite prone to blowing my cool UNTIL first break. The 8 o’clock rule was for him not to talk to me and everyone else not to grab my “legumes” until after 8 am. After about the 6th time I almost ripped his head off I talked to one of my Buddhist co-workers. We had been friends for a long time and she’s seen me overcome more than a few issued at work.
She knew of his reputation and saw me blow my cool a few times with him. One day during lunch I told her how bad I felt after losing it. I would apologize to him for ripping his head off and beat myself up over it. Then a few months later I would repeat the same routine.
She told me that he was one of my “teachers”. That, some people are put in our paths or timelines to teach us something. From that point on I looked at him differently. Because he was one of my “teachers” I figured out what it was he was here to teach me. And I took the time to learn and grow from the experience.
The last thing she told me when she left the company a few years ago was “Be kind to your teachers”. A few years later I made a point to walk with him to get his paper work as he was leaving the company. I know we weren’t as cool as we were when he first joined my department but we had made amends and were able to work together and get along.
As I look back, I have had many “teachers”. The lessons I learned from them greatly influenced who I am and how I relate to people. Right now I’m in a few class rooms; in both cases they are advanced lessons of previous subjects. And after these finals, there is nothing else for me to learn. It will be up to me to understand, incorporate and adapt.
And at the same time I will be kind to my teachers.
Trace
