This is a technique I learned from a colleague who does the same thing as me, but when I tried it, it worked so well that I wanted to share it. For reference, I teach meditation to teenagers at school.
- Take the time to listen to the other person
A few weeks ago, I almost couldn’t go to work because of a bad cold. I was so sick that everything bothered me, but I couldn’t find a teacher to take my place, so I had to teach the students. When I walked into the classroom, there was a smiling student at the entrance. Since she usually doesn’t talk much in class, I didn’t know the student was there. As the class started, I listened to the kids’ presentations and praised them. When it was time to fill out the activity sheet, I sat down next to the student who had strangely smiled at me that day, and watched closely as she did it. The girl quietly told me what upset her as I approached.
In her story, she told how her friend had spoken badly to her. Looking into the child’s eyes, I listened silently.
Listening intently to her story was all I could do. However, the results were great. Even though I didn’t tell her to meditate hard, the student meditated to the best of her abilities that day, and wrote in her testimony, “Though when I talked to my mom about my friend, I wasn’t free from a bad mood. But I meditated and became refreshed.”
- Be grateful for the smallest and trivial things
That’s what happened during that week when I was sick too.
I was so sick I didn’t eat, so I skipped meals. After hearing I was sick, my neighbor rang the doorbell. As I opened the front door, it was cold outside, so she came in with cold air.
Early in the morning, she brought two bananas, two hard-boiled eggs, and a jar of yogurt in a plastic bag. Since the food she brought was so simple, I thanked her without sincerity. At lunchtime, I was hungry and went looking for something to eat, but there wasn’t anything. I remembered my neighbor left bananas and eggs behind. I ate a banana, an egg, and yogurt for lunch, and the remaining banana and egg with grain powder for dinner. I got my energy back that evening. My gratitude goes out to her for considering me and being sincere. For leaving home early to help a sick neighbor, I was grateful to her.
- Try anything and don’t be afraid to fail
I recently started a blog for reading and interpreting English in my native language. Despite not being very good at English, I started it because I thought of myself who wasn’t good at English before and wanted people to know that even people who aren’t good at English can do well. I was worried when I started blogging.
What if people think my blog is boring? Making a grammar or reading comprehension mistake would be embarrassing… This worried me. People’s reactions were different, though. They said they read well because English wasn’t difficult but rather easy and fun. When I do something, I feel lighter than when I don’t do anything.
In my life, I don’t think I have any great abilities. The good thing is that I can practice something little by little every day. Is there something small but steady you have? Just let me know if you have. I want to try and follow you.
