So, my bags are mostly packed, except for the last minute stuff like medicines and whatnot. My house is mostly clean, still gotta tidy up the bathroom, and make sure I leave the key for my kitty-sitter extraordinare Liz. Orange and Skittelz sense something is up, they're both really clingy today. Skittelz made friends when Liz came to meet them, but Orange is more wary of strangers, so she may take awhile... I find myself getting more and more attached to them since I lost Amisi and Khepri, and will probably have another one of my own once my daughter reclaims these two.
I've been thinking about what this trip really means for me. It seems it is both a recognition, and a gaining of new responsibility. Kinda like getting a new belt in my martial arts class. Yes, you gain rank, but you also have new challenges to work with, new knowledge to absorb, and someday pass on to your students. But you must always, ALWAYS, keep the mind of a beginner. To look at something as though you've never seen it before, and be open to all possibilities.
This is what I think I will need to do as a Dharma Teacher. To see every person I meet as for the first time, and see the infinite possibilities in them. To help them see the possibilities in themselves. To gently advise when asked. To always keep striving for my own growth. To be a good example and be gentle with myself when I fall short, as will inevitably happen.
I hope I can live up to this new role.
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