See One, Do One, Teach One!

This was the maxim in medical school when learning procedures. The second you learn and do, go and teach someone else. In the scheme of things, it would be beneficial to recognize that any level of knowledge or wisdom you have will always pale in comparison to the level of knowledge or wisdom that is possible. That means that even when you are recognized as an “expert,” if you think you are, you probably don’t realize how much there is to know. With that being said – we are all amateurs in the scheme of wisdom, so when you learn something of value, you should experiment with that wisdom, and then teach it and not feel like you are unqualified. Don’t be an armchair genius who read and then spews forth his knowledge. My teacher of blessed memory, Gerald (Jerry) Epstein, MD use to say, before saying anything, say to yourself “What do I myself truly know about what I am about to say?” Have you experimented with this knowledge or are you just repeating it? Once you have experimented with it or experienced it, then you should teach it. The act of teaching is a way of exercising your will in a beneficial fashion.

Jerry would often talk about the “5 dark currents of will” (which was explained by a Catholic mystic by the name of Valentin Tomberg): those being the desire to be great, to take, to keep, to hold on to at the expense of other and to advance at the expense of others. Jerry listed the remedy for “advancing at the expense of others” is to teach.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe would often tell people with no background in studying sacred texts that once they learned something deeply, they should immediately share it with someone else. Those who have done teaching know that the benefits of teaching are almost always more impactful on the teacher than the student as the ancient sage Rabbi Chanina said “I have learned much from my teachers and even more from my friends, but from my students I have learned more than from all of them.“

What are you withholding? Or worse, what are you holding back at the expense of others when it comes to real wisdom? Or on the other hand, think you don’t have anything to teach? Well you are wrong. Very, very, wrong! You will be doing yourself a favor to share what you “truly know about” something in your life with someone else.