When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
This beautiful Buddhist proverb is a true declaration of an open mind, a mind of a learner. Ever since I heard this proverb, I often wondered if it reflected more than what meets the eye.
A few years ago, I discussed with some friends about our quest for a “teacher”. In our individual lives, our hive-less minds, we need a teacher to guide us. We deliberated, we concurred. But we could never find the real answer. I always considered this proverb on Prima facie, until today, when I realized that I’ve been looking at it differently all along.
After reading Rands’ words on challenging oneself, the proverb made more sense:
You’re in a hurry
Maybe you’re waiting for validation. You’re waiting for that someone you respect to say, “Yes, you bright person, you should do that thing.” It was your parents when you were you kid and then it was your first boss, but now it simply needs to be you.
What you need to understand about these people that support you is that they’re not here to slow you down, they’re here to get the hell out of your way so you can brilliant. You need discover the moment when you actually know better than everyone around you — when you make the first move without asking permission.
We all long for a validation. A validation, that we are taking the right decision, the right choice, at the right time, in the right place, around the right people, and for the right cause (or effect). But we wait. We wait for the teacher to appear and validate our thought. We are spoon-fed to the teacher’s nod, or rejection.
But, the real teacher is within. The real student is within. What we seek is within. What must grow is within.
Validate yourself.