No matter the circumstances, we are not the same people following a meeting with someone. It is up to us to decide if we will let this change us for the better in some way. If we choose to ignore it, we will be the same - or if used we could, potentially, be better for it.
if we are truly searching that the hoped for discovery of self and/or truth then our lives develop deeper meaning and this in turn may make our lives richer. We can then see people, events, readings etc, in the light of this search. Therefore our output as individuals, workers, family members becomes something more than mere existence. We become more fully human, more aware.
It is a wonderful event to watch a garden grow and transform from the bare earth to a profusion of flowers and vegetables. It takes a good deal of time and patience to create the beauty we see in mid to late summer which someone has had to pre-plan and plant.
We turn and see photographs on a shelf alongside favourite books perhaps. Places we remember bring a sense of peace and well being for many.
My classroom had become a microcosm of my own life and values. I sailed through other cultures with these values and seem to run against the prevailing culture around me.