Notes on Life and Learning Lessons Chapter 9

On Learning

To Know

People Better

A lady friend and I had a little talk at school. She said, among other things, that she had a new boyfriend. I saw a little glow in her eyes.

“How well did you know him before he became your boyfriend?” I asked.

“Not much but he looks like a good man,” she said.

“Do you think he loves you sincerely?”

“I am not sure. Will you help me check? A common friend of ours said that you have ‘a special way, a special skill’ of knowing things. Can you use it now so I can know if my new boyfriend truly loves me?”

I smiled and replied, “A spiritual sage once said that life here is like one big school. We are here to learn lessons from life so we could progress towards knowing who we really are and what we really can be. I believe that one important lesson we have to learn is how to know the sincerity of a person relating with us. I once wrote a poem on this topic. A few lines go this way:

Learn how to listen to what is said,

as well as to what is not said

Learn how to see what is given for us to see,

as well as to see what is kept hidden

Learn when to trust,

and when you have to know more of a person.

“If I told you now what kind of man your boyfriend is, you will not learn the lesson you have to learn. If a parent does the homework of his/her child, the child does not learn the lesson well. I should not do your homework for you. If I do, I will be a bad Teacher of Life.

“However, if after some repeated attempts, you still cannot seem to get the right answers, please see me. I will share with you a few relevant experiences and insights. I will also give you similar problems to solve…an additional ‘homework’.”

She was amused by my answer. After a while, she smiled and thanked me