Look for the Teachers
Have you ever gone to a bookstore and picked up a book that seemed to jump out at you to realize that it was the exact book you needed to read at that moment?
Or you came across an article, blog post, or podcast episode about a topic that you’d been struggling with at that moment?
Or you found a workshop/class/presentation/event at the EXACT time you needed it?
These aren’t coincidences. These are teachers showing up for us because we are ready to learn the lessons they have to teach us.
I know this because all of these things have happened to me.
These experiences, synchronicities, coincidences, whatever you want to call them, have been such a huge part of my personal growth journey. They’ve been the most impactful because, I believe, it was all kismet. Each one was like following a trails of breadcrumbs from the Universe. These breadcrumbs, these teachers, have come in the form of people, books, workshops, events, and even podcasts.
What I didn’t know was that I had these teachers available to me THE WHOLE TIME. It wasn’t until I was open to receiving them that I found them. Or they found me.
So what was it that opened my eyes to what was already there? It started when I realized I wasn’t happy with how I was showing up in my life and wanted to change that. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I knew who the real me was. I’d been programmed to focus on my outside appearance (how I looked, how I talked, how I behaved, etc.), that other people’s opinions mattered A LOT, and that going with the flow was good for everyone. I believed this for a very long time and I think it was because I didn’t feel confident about the person I was deep inside. Hell, I barely knew her so how was I SUPPOSED to act?
I always morphed and behaved according to who I was spending time with. I was also good at distracting myself from my own truth by they busyness of raising kids and being a supportive wife, because without those roles I had no idea who I was supposed to be. I completely ignored myself and my own needs.
I began to wake up when my internal suffering was too much to bear. At that time, I’d been writing in local magazines for a couple of years for very little pay for the amount of time I spent researching, interviewing, writing, editing, and revising. I mean PEANUTS. Was I writing Pulitzer Prize winning material? Fuck no. But it was still my time. I was also working remotely as a part-time PR assistant in the book publishing world, which I found fascinating until it wasn’t. The East Coast business approach was not in alignment with who I was. I was so miserable that I put the brakes on everything.
My first teacher came when I finally stopped doing those things that felt wrong for me (not writing, just writing about boring subjects and getting paid nothing for them). I remember feeling so lost. Maybe it was because I no longer had a distraction. I didn’t want to go back to “just a mom” even though I chose to stay home and raise my kids, I needed more. I prayed, I begged, and cried because I had no idea who I was, what I wanted, and what direction to head in next.
That teacher I mentioned came in the form of a life-coaching program. The tagline was literally “get unstuck”. And even more than that was how I found the program. I was part of a book recommendation website and it was one of the fellow bibliophiles/writers that brought it to my attention. Lindsey shared her thoughts on a cleanse she did and how much she recommended checking out an upcoming 21-day challenge by this same person. I checked it out and like I said, her tagline was about getting unstuck so I signed up. This led me to saying yes to her 10-week program. It was that program that led me on a completely different path than I was on.
I examined how I was showing up in my life. I had to figure out what I really wanted. How I wanted to feel each day then determine how I was going to make that happen. That program wasn’t the end all be all but it was a great launching pad for me. I learned how to listen to myself more. It was about that time that I started doing yoga and I found yoga to be pivotal in building that “listening to self” practice.
I started picking up books about living with purpose, dealing with limiting beliefs, coping with trauma, changing my mindset, manifestation, self-care, and even spirituality. I also stopped saying yes to things I didn’t want to do and yes to what made me happy. I did more things that lit me up. I started following people on social media that inspired me to dream big. I stopped hanging out with negative people or those who weren’t in my corner.
I kept following the breadcrumbs. I found a teacher (whom I now get to call a friend) because I reached out to her when I saw her multiple times at our favorite eatery. She’s become a cornerstone in my life and even though she’s young enough to be my daughter, we are connected on another level.
I found another teacher through someone who shared her meditation program. She’s a kindred spirit as well and she’s taught me to take time to be with myself daily so I can hear what is deep in my soul.
All of these teachers have shown up exactly when I needed them and I know it wasn’t lucky timing. I wrote about these women in my daily journal, giving gratitude for them even though they hadn’t shown up yet.
The books that have impacted me the most were the books I heard about from multiple sources. Or they practically leapt out at me from the bookstore shelf.
It took me a long time but I learned to expect them. These teachers, these life lessons, these opportunities to grow are always there for us.. It’s a matter of being open to them and EXPECTING them to show up. Maybe the hardest part is being open in the first place. It takes seeing life differently; that the Universe isn’t working against us but for us. Believe me when I say this was the hardest part for me. To be optimistic when life was stacked against me. When nothing was going my way. But it was that first breadcrumb, that workshop, showing up like it did that made me a believer.
I hope this encourages you to start looking for the teachers and life lessons you need. It’s like that weird thing that happens when when you buy a new car, let’s say it’s a white Volvo. You start to see white Volvos everywhere. It’s the same thing. Our mind starts to look for the good stuff.
Expect what you want to be on its way. Expect the teachers. Expect the lessons. They will start to show up and then they’ll be everywhere.
Then you can expect your life to change in the ways you never imagined.