Teachers Don't Think Of Themselves

I’ve mentioned before that I have some very strange dreams.
Last night, I not only had a strange dream, but I had one that’s been making me think.
Go figure!
I was working in a movie theater again. I wasn’t the Manager, I was the manager’s assistant. (That’s the strange part to me)
I was busy doing weekly chores that one does in that business, and the District Manager showed up. Apparently I was working in the theater he was based in. After a while, my chores led me past a meeting he was holding and I overheard him saying there were openings he was looking to fill in theaters in his district.
Later, I asked him about the openings.
He told me that no, there weren’t any openings.
We both knew that he was not telling the truth.
So I said, “Let’s be honest with each other. Do you not want me holding a Management position again?”
His reply was “No.”
I stood there waiting for an explanation with a stupid look on my face.
He stated plainly, “Teachers don’t think of themselves.”
I heard what he had said, but didn’t absorb it right away.
He continued, “I see a shift in you in the right direction. But you’re not there yet.” He smiled, put a hand on my shoulder, then walked away to continue his work. (what’s funny was I bothered him in the middle of him ‘testing’ a video game…)
I walked back to my desk, at the top of a dusty hill where a friend (I assume) pulled up in their truck. I sat down with a smile on my face, and then I awoke.
I woke with the same smile on my face, in the same profound thought as I had been in the dream before I woke up. And, I’ve been thinking about it since.
The depth of that single sentence, coming from a man I’ve looked up to for years, is still hitting me in ways I never expected.
“Teachers don’t think of themselves.”
This isn’t just talking about academic teachers. Teachers can be found in so many other positions and professions if you think about it.
Heck, Parent are teachers. They’re the most important ones in my mind.
As I woke up this morning, thinking in wonder at the small revelation I had just had,
I thought to myself, “Thank you God (for that wisdom you’ve bestowed upon me)”.
I’ve thanked God several times since then.
Now, I’m not here to preach, but I may be here to teach.
My thoughts have wandered to things I’ve done, and the motivation for which I did them.
Sometimes, I’ve done things in the name of something else, when all I was really doing them for was because of the way it made Me feel or because of feelings I was having that I had to cope with.
Quite a different sized revelation to me.
I’m sure I’ll continue to think about the phrase that came to me in my dreams last night, delivered by the entity I look up to.
Only good can come out of it.


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Quote for the day:

"If you don't risk anything you risk even more." -- Erica Jong

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Update on the tree...