No Student Ever Graduates From This School

And we are all students in this school — of Life Experiences

I was in the taxi on my way back home on that day. Under normal conditions, my trip should take no more than ten minutes easy driving time. But the roads were very bad and the trip time could quickly escalate to half an hour or longer.

Standing by the road, one of the ubiquitous taxis finally stopped for me. I never cease to wonder how these resilient drivers managed to break even in their trade. No matter how sturdily built, the bad roads quickly wear out any brand of vehicle. Hence, most of the money realized from their private transport business always go into fixing these second and third hand vehicles on the road. Irrespective of the amount of money they make at the end of the day, huge chunks of it goes into maintaining and keeping those vehicles road-worthy. They also spend so much greasing the hands of policemen stationed every one or two kilometers along the tortuous road. Not much is left for the upkeep of body and soul. As a result of these, most of these commercial drivers are never able to escape from the poverty spiral.

A taxi soon stopped for me to hop in. I was sited immediately behind the driver. His side rear view mirror was shattered. Two passengers were scrambled to his right on a seat designed for one passenger. We were seated three passengers at the back. All together, the taxi was overloaded with two extra passengers where it should be carrying no more than four or five. The only consolation and hope is that the rough ride lasts for few minutes.

Discomforts waved aside, I settled down to take in the view on the ride home. From experience, I've learnt to watch out for my people's witty wisdom often captured as hilarious graffiti on wheels. If you are observant, you won't miss any of these free for all lessons delivered on the road. The road is your classroom and the external chassis of all classes of on-the-road vehicles were your chalkboards or display screens. Keep your heart and eyes opened.

On that day, I was rewarded with another of those "free-of-charges" lessons. I had only one chance to capture this shot on my sluggish camera phone. Just one chance and the whole thing was gone! Zoom in on the shot and catch what I caught. This is what the camera saw.

That,

In the school of experience, there is no graduation.

Indeed, everything that happens in life has an experience to offer you. All it takes is discernment. Coupled through the lens of the right perspective, this will enable you to profit by whatever life throws at you. The Holocaust survivor, Victor Frankl in his Man's Search for Meaning left a landmark lesson. You can always chose how to react to whatever happens to you - good or bad. From him, we learnt that the ability to chose how we respond to a situation is the last of human freedoms that no man can ever take away from us.

In “the school of experience” where there is no graduation date, here are five more lessons worth sharing.

Tomorrow is nearer than you thought

Always make every moment count because life is zooming away faster than the highest speed mark on your car speedometer. During my teen and adolescent years, like every other youngster, I too was prone to fret, "When am I going to grow beards?" "Won't school ever end?" "When will it be time for love?"

Last January, a new mother cuddling her bundle of joy asked me, “When will this baby grow up to be a big girl?” I told her not to worry. Now, that same baby girl has started picking her first steps now and chiming her favorite names in the family.

Like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, things come to pass at their appointed time. I remember the time I used to throw up and catch every one of my kids midair. Now all of them have grown bigger and stronger than me. Now, gray hairs are sprouting everywhere and at all the wrong places with my “godkids” affectionately referring to me as grandpa. Young or old, we've all come a long way now. Haven’t we?

What matters now may be totally irrelevant by this time tomorrow.

While it is good to always decisively "seize the day", prudence also lies in taking time to reflect instead of acting impulsively. It is important to allow time to play its part because what is riling you today may not matter any longer by this time tomorrow. Realize that what happened to you may not be the worst that has ever happened. Others might have worst experiences in the past. It is not morbid pessimism to imagine what the worst case could have been.

Next time you are pis*d off, ask yourself, “What exactly is pis*ing me of over this matter or issue?”

Interacting with others, we often rub others the wrong way. Others are often more than ready to return us the same favor. No matter what happens, next time someone presses your buttons the wrong way, always stop to ask yourself, "What is it about this situation that is causing me to be worried, annoyed or worked up?" Often times, you will discover what you were worried about is not even worth your time or emotional response at all.

Be grateful or be depressed and discouraged

Life has taught me that every extra day is a bonus. Don't put off living. Rather, be grateful for all that comes your way either good or bad. Even though it is not easy to be grateful for bad things or bad times, every set back always comes with hidden possibilities and opportunities for us to reinforce and bounce back. A positively grateful mental attitude will put depression at bay. A grateful person finds it easier to come out of debilitating discouragements with a stronger resolve to go ahead.

You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it. ~ Annie Dillard

Oftentimes, the best encouragement is "incouragement"

Stop the quest for endless external validation. Encourage yourself from inside — “incouragement”. The times may be hard now, but you are not the first and certainly won't be the last to go through these tough times. When times are hard ask yourself, "Have I gone through this before?" If the answer is yes, ask the next question, "How did I weather the storm then?" If your answer to the former question is no ask "Has others past through this type of experience before you?" In all likelihood, you will discover that others have passed through the same road you are now traversing. Then you summon courage and hope. Tomorrow will surely come for you. Your sun will certainly rise again. So, whatever it is that life throws at you, make sure you keep on learning. Yes, you can always learn, grow and keep on marching forward. Remember the admonition in the words of Johnnie Walker's Red Label advertisement "… keep on walking."

Takeaway

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. ~ Psalms 90:12