Hands together, elbows together, head up- root a jah, root a jah...

I've been seeking out mentors this year like a mad woman.  I've literally turned myself into an octopus in order to know better, do better.  One mentor came in a not so likely form.  I flip through books, devouring random quotes, experiences, and tidbits like a wolf mother returning to her pack.  Sotomayor was narrating her experience of when she learned to truly read and interact with the text.  It was taught to her by another 5th grade student.

“But the more critical lesson I learned that day is still one too many kids never figure out: don’t be shy about making a teacher of any willing party who knows what he or she is doing. In retrospect, I can see how important that pattern would become for me: how readily I’ve sought out mentors, asking guidance from professors or colleagues, and in every friendship soaking up eagerly whatever that friend could teach me.” p. 72


What if that's the way we all lived our lives? Learning from each and every person we come in contact with, mind open ready to gain new understandings or turn old understandings into misconceptions and forge ahead.  Being humble and gracious enough to realize that everyone has something to teach you. 

This reminds me of a book by Max Lucado

So often I stomp through life more and more like a Wemmick and less and less like a Punchinello. Now that Spring has sprung it's time to take a deep breath and encourage ourselves and others to look around with an open mind and notice.