Robert J. Strock describes how a mentor's silent gaze helped him overcome a childhood wound that kept him from sharing observations. That moment of insight, he says, is where truth and compassion meet, and each insight is a form of generosity that frees both giver and receiver.
The Teacher and the Awakening of Insight. When one moment changes a lifetime. Wonder invites questions, and questions often lead us to teachers. Years ago, I asked a mentor why I hesitated to share what I saw, even when it might help others. He looked at me silently, and a childhood memory flashed— my mother's finger pointing, who do you think you are? Tears and laughter came together. My teacher simply nodded, and everything shifted. Communication with everyone I knew became more open and natural than it had ever been. I realized I had been stymied by that childhood experience. Such awakenings, moments when truth and compassion meet, reveal our capacity to live differently. Each insight is a form of generosity, freeing both the giver and the receiver. A question to really consider: What role model or epiphany has most changed how you would like to share yourself with others?
