“If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.” –Pema Chödrön
My Yoga instructor is always encouraging me to open my heart in a physical sense — throw back my chest, squeeze my clavicles, etc. But I also think she is encouraging me to do it in a metaphysical sense as well.
We all have friends who drive us crazy, yet how wonderful it is when we realize we love that friend for their faults as much as in spite of them — when their craziness helps us see the world in a new and different light.
A long time ago, when I was much younger I had a rogue friend who was always flirting with my girlfriend at the time. His flirting almost destroyed our friendship until I realized he was teaching me something. His flirting with my girl meant I had something he valued and maybe, just maybe, I needed to place more value on her and on what I had. Forty-five years later that “girl” is still my wife. A valuable lesson from a friend that was driving me crazy. He had been my teacher. He still is.
What can you learn for a friend that is driving you crazy? Open up your hearts and find out.
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