Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

This morning I listened to my Buddhist teacher talk about how circumstances and ordinary interactions can be your teachers, as well as people with whom you feel in conflict.  I love it when, as happened the other day, I meet someone and it becomes a teaching moment.  I met the young woman at the eye doctor's, and we talked deeply about her survival of breast cancer twice, and my experience of eye injections.  Sometimes a challenge like taking my driver's test becomes a learning moment.  I finally realized the DMV tester was hostile to me and I went elsewhere.  But most challenging of all is when you feel an aversion to someone or something and you turn not away from it but towards it.  Often you learn that the thing that irritates you about the other person is something you recognize in yourself.  If I can face it, I can change that thing in myself by being conscious of it and careful in my speech or action.  No, you can't change the other person, but you begin to feel compassion for him/her.  As they say, you know where they are coming from.  People who appear aloof turn out to be shy with new people, or talkers just plain old nervous.  Judging precipitously is unwise, and remaining open as long as I am able helps me learn about myself and others more accurately.  It's worth the effort.