Blog #754: The Teachers I Almost Missed

I see it clearly now.

Two of my greatest teachers
have never spoken a word.

Two little dogs teaching big lessons.

______

For 15½ years…

My Chihuahuas have taught me more about life than I’ve taught them.

They taught me to celebrate.

When I walk through the door, they celebrate like I’m the best part of their day.

It never matters what kind of day I’ve had.

Where I’ve been.

What I’ve accomplished.

They taught me to find joy in ordinary moments.

A patch of sun.

A favorite cookie.

A roll in the grass.

They taught me that even though their bodies hurt…

they still find a reason to wag their tails.

They taught me that rest is not something to feel guilty about.

They know when it is time to stop.

They taught me to stay curious.

Every walk is an adventure…

even if it’s the 1,000th time down the same street.

But maybe their greatest lesson is this:

They taught me that greatness has little to do with achievement.

My dogs have never accomplished anything the world would celebrate.

They have never won an award.

Never been a social media star.

Never measured their worth by who others wanted them to be.

Yet every day…

They succeeded mightily in making my world better.

And to them…

I am always enough.

______

And I realized something else.

Maybe my dogs weren’t the only teachers I had been overlooking.

Maybe it isn’t only people who teach us about life.

Maybe the world around us has been quietly teaching me all along.

I just had to become quiet enough to listen.

Maybe it is the oak tree that stands through seasons and years… showing us that some of the greatest things in life are grown by simply staying rooted.

Maybe it is the grass that gets stepped on, cut down, and forgotten… yet somehow finds the courage to grow again.

Or maybe it is the clouds that remind us life keeps flowing… even when we wish we could hold onto a moment forever.

Maybe it is the ocean waves coming in and going out… reminding us that life rises and falls.

Maybe it is the tireless ant… reminding us that small efforts, faithfully repeated, add up.

Then there is the redwood that has stood through generations of change… reminding us that greatness is not built quickly, but patiently over time.

Maybe it is the falling leaf that reminds us each season to let something go… while the new leaf reminds us that life always holds the possibility of beginning again.

Or even still…

Maybe it is the sun, the moon, and the stars… reminding us that some things keep shining, no matter what surrounds them.

______

Life is rich with teachers.

I could name ten more.

Twenty more.

Fifty more.

And I’m grateful that I now see them.

When I was young, I knew people were my teachers.

As I grow older, I know the Earth is, too.

People have made my brain bigger.

The Earth has made my heart bigger.

How grateful am I to have learned from both.

______

Because the greatest blessing is not just having teachers.

It is having the awareness to recognize them.

It took me 63 years to learn this lesson.

And thankfully…

I’m still in the classroom.

S.

(Audio version)