Wisdom of the ages

I have not been dancing at ballet class lately due to some medical issues. However, my balletmistress has invited me to sit in on both her classes and take notes, a generous offer that I accepted gladly.

As I sat there this afternoon watching her put the class through its paces, I was struck by how fortunate I was to have had such good teachers in my life. I had a Cambridge-trained teacher for my secondary school, who taught me about respect and instilled in me a lifelong love for literature. I had an old, grizzled fencing master who fought in WWII with the weapon that he was training us on. Now, I'm blessed with having one of the best balletmistresses in Canada instructing me in art of dance.

In my culture, age is revered. Our elders are to be respected and taken care of. You don't see it here in North America much anymore. Old people are...just old people. We discount their lifetime's worth of experience in favour of our own arrogant youthfulness, a gamble on the potential of greatness versus the time-tested lessons of a long life.

I don't think I'll live to be the age where I get to pass things on to the newer generation, not like that. I may volunteer as an occasional teacher at the local schools but I shall never been a force in someone's life. No one will point to me and say, "Yes, Miss Kate taught me this and I shall never forget it."

Life is. The only life I can truly influence is that of my own. I may not be able to pass what I know onto the younger generation, but I can certainly get better by learning from those who have gone before me and excelled in their field. One out of two isn't bad, is it?