I have been blessed with many incredible teachers in my life. They have presented themselves in all shapes, sizes, and ages. Some have been formal teachers and many have guided me with their very presence in my life. My teachers have been two legged, four legged, able bodied, disabled, and some without bodies of flesh. My teachers have been sweet and unconditionally loving, violent and controlling, and everything in between. My lessons have come to me as gentle as a whisper and some have been as harsh and devastating as a hurricane. Some lessons have been completed in an instant and others have required long-term recovery and rebuilding. Some of my teachers I have dearly loved more than others and at times there were a few I despised.

One of the most important things I have learned in this lifetime is my teachers are my teachers and my lessons are my lessons. I am responsible for learning my own lessons. My lessons and teachers are as difficult as I need them to be until I learn what I need to learn. I have found that if I get real still and I quiet my mind, I am better able to hear those gentle whispers. I then have the option to integrate those whispered pearls of wisdom into my life or not. Each choice has an outcome. If I heed the whisper and demonstrate what I've learned in my daily life, that lesson is complete or at least well under way. If I choose to ignore the whisper then the lesson will be presented again in a firmer way. As long as I choose to ignore the lesson, the presentation becomes bigger, louder, and harsher and the teacher appears meaner and more aggressive. When one teacher is not able to get the message across, another teacher takes its place. If I continue to resist, eventually the lesson will come on a universal two-by-four! And all the while I had the same choice- allow or deny, accept or resist.

The really awesome part of all of this is that as a student I can choose: whisper or two-by-four or anything in between! The key is to remember that I am the one who is choosing, not the teacher. Teachers have different styles of presentation. Some use the same style pretty consistently and some are more adept in offering anything from a whisper to wielding a stick in any given situation. So some teachers are here for a single lesson, never to be seen again and others are available for years.

It is very important to remember that I study with multiple teachers at the same time. While I may prefer to have only one or two primary teachers at one time not all of them are formal teachers. It is important that I honor them all and that I choose to move graciously from one to the next when it is time. Being complete with one teacher does not mean that the next one is better or somehow greater than the one before. They are all my teachers, even after they've taught me all I could learn from them. Like the dolphins said in A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, "Bye! Thanks for all the fish!"

Regardless of how long I study with a particular teacher it is crucial that I assume responsibility for my lessons and that I express my gratitude for the time and energy and pearls of wisdom each teacher shares with me, even the ones who have taught me what not to do, how not to be, and no matter whether they did it with a kiss or a kick. I am grateful to all my teachers and I ask that blessings be bestowed upon each of them for the valuable lessons they have taught me!