Because of the way my morning was structured, in conjunction with Glory Days on my mind...I found myself thinking back to my very first job in the counseling/social services field as a Family Service Specialist working with special needs children...the impact a specific client had on my life (worked with this particular client for a year)...as well as the training involved for that kind of work..The training involved was VERY intense...you had to attend a training meeting at least once, sometimes twice a week for about a month and a half prior to starting employment, and then once you started working you had to attend a monthly meeting where case presentations were shared, group discussions were had, and even more training was provided...I learned so much from those training sessions...things that can not only be used in the field I was in at the time/am currently in now...but to everyday life with what one might consider "normal" people. I'm truly blessed for the knowledge gained then, that has since then expanded and made me such a more stronger person...and more effective in my line of work.
One of the very first training sessions...there was a professional who shared a very touching and personal story about their life and about their loved ones...and they shared a quote that I will always treasure: "every moment in a teachable moment"...well the same can be said in the reverse, no?... Every moment is a learnable moment (I don't know if "learnable" is a real word or not...but you get what I mean)! And that's what today's reflection will focus on...knowledge...the ability to not only teach one another each and every single day but to learn from one another as well as what all of that means to me.
Before I reflect more about today, I wanted to share a quote that I found today in a pile of quotes that I have, as it could not fit better into yesterday's reflection...
Quote for Day 1's reflection:
"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing" ~ Agatha Christie
Perhaps it's thinking about the "Good Old Glory Type Days"...or perhaps it's because I started a new group fairly recently (and am still learning about each and every single one of my clients)...but I found myself thinking about knowledge...and how powerful it really is...and all the little places that it could be found that we generally don't think about. I'm truly blessed...I interact with so many people so intimately each and every single day...and each month/group I get the privilege of working with completely new individuals...and each and every single human being alive has their own personal knowledge, personal experiences, and an expertise in at least one area... and you know what? I get to witness this daily! I get to have a different "teacher" in my life. I get to become a better person simply because I want to help someone better themselves. It truly is an amazing feeling!!! What I've learned is that each and every single day I learn something new (whether I'm aware of it at the time or not)...and one of the things I'm grateful for is the ability to have the privilege of knowledge, the ability to obtain that knowledge, and of course very important is the ability to maintain that knowledge...
I had an interesting experience on my commute home, ... that teachable/learnable moment...There were no buses coming my way (or the other way for that matter), and the bus line was at least long enough to fill 3 buses (that were nowhere in sight)...so I decided to walk crosstown...as I near my train station...someone stops me and asks for directions...where they needed to go was slightly out of my way, but only by a few minutes...I decided that it would just be easier to show them how to get to where they wanted to go, as opposed to explaining to them the fact that they first needed to walk a few blocks, go across town, and switch trains a few times?...especially since I was going that way too..I know this city, I know the MTA system forwards and backwards, LOL (and at least 3 alternate routes to each of my destinations, etc)... so why not share that knowledge with someone who has only been in this country for two days??? While showing this person how to get around the MTA system, I got to learn a bunch of stuff not only about this complete stranger (who btw is a sweetheart, and I wish them all the best for the short time period that they're in this country to learn English)...but about a small town in Italy!!! It was an enlightening experience. And I felt better having had helped this complete stranger than if I had rushed home.
Here's a list of the things I find myself grateful for this particular day:
- I'm very grateful for my job... I get the privilege of not only sharing the knowledge that I have with my clients, but I get to learn from my clients each and every single day..
- Did you know that there's a way to hack into your own computer to assess whether or not someone's hacking into your computer?
- Did you know that despite everything else in your life going wrong, you still have the motivation to come to a program where you get evaluated...because you want to better your life and fix the current situation?
- Do you know the differences between the different business models???
- I'm grateful that I'm healthy and that I have the ability to help someone each and every single day...sometimes through the smallest of acts (i.e. the story about my commute home)...or through really great and big acts (i.e. helping an individual locate their vocational interests, evaluate them fairly, and then help build their argument to a board of reviewers so that they can obtain their goal [pending of course that it's a realistic goal]).
- I'm grateful for this profession...as challenging as it is sometimes...I don't know if I would be happy doing anything other than what I am doing now...helping others
- and I'm grateful for the KNOWLEDGE that I have about this... lol
Quote for Day 2's reflection:
"Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us daily" ~ Sally Koch
Till tomorrow's lovely reflection.
Much Love,
Serendipity2908
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