"Loved the class, hated the teacher"

A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations.-Patricia Neal




I got this remark one day from a man I follow on Twitter:

"Did I tell you I had my 1st yoga class? Loved the class, hated the teacher."

As it often occurs with written words, I was left to shade in the possible emotions within the lines formed by his sentences. Was he being funny? Could someone actually hate a yoga teacher? I decided to simply reply:

I think that was a good outcome: love class/hate teacher. The teacher sounds interesting to me. :)

I truly was interested in the teacher. How did he/she manage to deliver the message while being rejected as the messenger? When I brought it up in one of my classes, there was general agreement. Despite the unkind and impatient teachers they may have encountered, folks said they loved the yoga that filtered through. They may not go back to a particular teacher, but they will continue to go back to yoga.

It sounds a lot like life. Although our teachers may be disguised as children, bag ladies or terrorists and the lessons sweet or vile. We love the class and Life can be our master and teacher, unless we decide to take on those roles for ourselves.

Photo: RafNap