On the other side

On the other side…
As a teacher I had the privilege of getting to meet many resource persons who spoke to us about their understanding of the world. Some spoke about their passion, be it art,music or human personality, Identity etc. Some of them have been very genuine and the preparation they did to talk to me and a group of fellow teachers could be seen. But some delivered their lectures as a matter of fact and they could be easily categorized as people who did a job. The former spoke through their heart and the latter through their mind. How many of these peoples inputs do I remember? And how much of their ideas have I internalized? And how much of it has gone into practice?
It is clear to me that people who spoke through their heart and with passion have had a lasting impact on me. I may not recall erything of what they said, but I salute them for opening me to a new thought and dimension of the world around me. Is it important that I should know them by name now? I do not think so. Well, I can recall a few names who had visited us recently or those whom I met more than a couple of times. I wonder whether my fellow colleagues think about them at all. Luckily for me what ever input those people gave me I shared it with my class of students and consciously spoke about the new thoughts and ideas wherever possible. I did recall a few even in Nepal while talking to fellow volunteers.
My organization which spent so much money on exposing its staff to new thoughts has continued to do so. It has not asked us for any inputs as to how we beneficiaries have been profited by it. The people who shared their thoughts are perhaps not worried about what impact they had on us. Sharing and learning was on without any stress to meet deadlines or targets. It was all so beautiful.
Now I stand before a group of teachers as a resource person. How do I present to them? What do they feel about me? How much of how and what I do is important than their own openness to learn? Do I deliver through my heart or mind? Should I be bothered about the impact I have? In my experience so far I have seen faces which have shown surprise, excitement, lethargy, openness , carelessness, passiveness, eagerness etc .Some I have met more than once and a few, many times. It is understandable that as I stand on the other side, I sense the emotions people experience as resource persons. It is all human . My speakers who influenced me may not remember me amongst the multitude of faces they see. But that they have been able to leave behind lasting impression is the faith I carry now. Faith and utmost trust in human endeavor can result in creating a humane world. I am a part of that. Either ways or positions I can make it happen. So will all, sooner or later.