Another Time Perhaps
The last set of sessions the students had attended followed a theme called ‘The Invisible Teaching Aid’, where SIR actually did not tell the students anything. Instead, they were encouraged to DISCOVER by asking the tutor questions (which he would not help them formulate — he lied when they really struggled, he helped them quite a bit.)
They had become enthusiastic now. This tutors’ style was fun as they discovered things they did not know before, yet here they were working things out and coming up with such astonishing revelations about life and themselves. PLUS, it got the bashful boys talking about uncomfortable things like love and affection, which they had classed as ‘sissy’.
“The problem is with all of this study is that we see the world using thought. Then, after a while, we are convinced that the world in our MIND is real and that our thoughts that created our understanding of the world are also real. I have chosen three countries for my slide today. Africa is a very mysterious continent. It is also ancient. There is a very plausible theory that we humans first existed in our present form in Africa. It is, therefore, an old and mysterious place, which sounds awfully like our recollections of our own past. This is how this lesson works. I have given you a huge starter for ten. You can ask your questions now, and let us see where we go with it.”
Lucy had promoted herself to group leader during the last session but was unsure of herself to take on the role again. She had several questions that she wanted to ask, but hey, ho, she felt that she was ‘hogging the limelight and the English reserve says thou shalt not do that. So she gave everyone in the group a chance to take the lead by keeping quiet.
There followed palpable silence. ‘SIR’ was aware that this group was all new to each other, so the group’s dynamics were a long way off being sorted. Lucy was the apparent leader. She was very bright, had a lot of confidence in her beliefs. The silence was a good thing to encourage in students. Paul was a great believer in NOT saying the first thing that came into your head. I know there is a saying, “The first thought that comes into your head is often the best”, BUT he was a great believer that fools did often rush in where the angels feared to tread.
“Not a question exactly, but from work we did before, I now understand NOW from this slide much better. Now is safe because we can experience everything and feel there is no danger and hence no fear. It is a familiar place where we feel calm and relaxed. Whether England is like that or not, I couldn’t say, but it certainly feels that way to me.” Said George, who typically had very little to say unless it was “good morning” or “the weather is tosh.” This was an excellent sign indeed that this group was bonding.
“Well done, George, all good notions. Anyone else feels anything about England, NOW and Home?”
Sally said, “The thing that comes to mind is NOW is the winter of our discontent. America came into being through political and social discontent and maybe is how England would have been had things panned out differently.”
“Ah, see how easily you have strayed off into the future. I get it though there is a distinct connection between well-known prose and the countries I have picked. Well spotted.”
“We are with clarity, sir. In the NOW, we can rely on our five senses giving up-to-date information about what we hear, see, smell, touch and taste, none of which is pulled from memory or guesswork.”
“You have been paying attention, George, and there I was thinking that you nodded off in my lessons.” and Paul grinned a wide grin.
“Sir, that is un…”
“You did well, George. It is perfect to know that that little seed of learning within you is growing and though you do not know it yet, that little seed will change your whole life.”
Lucy coughed and then said, “Reality check. It implies that the past is unreal, and so is the future, but my childhood memories are very vivid, and I remember every detail. It feels so real to me. Also, I think I have glimpsed the future many times, and often it is correct. I remember you saying that you had a person come into your mind and then the telephone rang and it was that person. That is real, isn’t it?”
“Ah, where have you been Lucy, you see all this very clearly, don’t you?”
“Yes. That is, I think so. That is what you mean about the horizon, isn’t it? We have a gift of seeing where the future might lead but only up to a fixed horizon. If it is good, the past is often remembered, and so is when it has been bad. We do not remember neutral things at all, do we.”
Paul looked puzzled. Lucy had mentioned something that was in next weeks session, not this one. How the hell could she know? “I am off home now, Lucy. You have this so much under the button. I am confident you could teach this lesson.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I have hesitation and am guessing that I know where this is going. I have a sort of intuitive feeling about your lessons that I do not have with the other sessions we have.”
“That is life, Lucy in a nutshell. You will lead a class like this one day, and of that, I am absolutely certain.”
“George, You look like a student that has something to add.”
Michael spoke up instead. “Sir, how long is a moment? People say live in the now, but just how long is the moment of now?”
“What an excellent question, and really, it is all of the 3rd and final session we will have on the principles according to Sydney Banks esquire. Have you done this course before/ Perhaps a similar one?”
“No, Sir, but I have had some weird experiences.”
“Ah. Are these experiences ones that you would not mind sharing with the rest of us?”
“They are personally painful, Sir.”
“As I said, it is entirely up to you if you would like to share them, but let me say this, sometimes talking about such events can help them go away.”
“I will try to heed your advice, and attempt to share some of them.”
“Take your time. If you hesitate or whatever, then we are all friends here. We will wait for you to continue or stop as you feel able.”
There was a pause. Paul’s face became static as he relived his own secret, special, memories of a horrendous childhood experience. His face was expressionless, and the whole class sensed that ‘Sir’ was no longer with them. Lucy spoke first and said, “Are you, okay sir?”
“Yes, yes, just for a moment there I went somewhere else. Thank you, Lucy, for bringing me back. Sorry, Michael, you see, such things affect us all very deeply. Man measures time, but the human being experiences it, and it can be very dramatic. Sorry. Would you like to tell us your story?”
“Now I know I am not alone in feeling these things, then yes I would.”
“I was a small child. I suppose about three or maybe four years old and sat in the special front seat of our family car. We were on a motorway, and the car was going very fast. Mummy and Daddy were arguing and shouting at each other. I remember we went up and down this short, tall, hill.”
[SILENCE]
“The car was heading towards a stationary lorry.”
[SILENCE]
“It should have been slowing down, but it wasn’t.”
[SILENCE]
“I remember the world went black and white, and someone turned the sound off.”
[SILENCE]
“Then the slow-motion happened. I saw the impact. I was gently thrown towards the windscreen and then gently lowered back into my safety chair. The car’s roof peeled off like a sardine can being opened, and I could clearly see the underside of the lorry trailer. “
[SILENCE]
“I am sorry, Sir, I cannot go further with this account. The pain is unbearable.”
“No, that’s okay, we all understand. Let’s all take a few minutes, and I will see you back here in ten minutes. Michael, will you remain, please?”
The other students all slowly filed out, and there were just the two of them left in the room. Paul got up and shut the classroom door, and he closed the open window to the courtyard.
“Let’s sit at my table. That was very brave, and I hope that you will be more able to deal with that part of the story from now on. What follows is obviously a lot more horrific, and I will never quiz you about those events, for I am not qualified to do so. If you want, and only if you want, I can arrange for you to have a 1–2–1 meeting with a dear friend of mine who is a paramedic manager, and he will be able to help you overcome your experiences.”
“I need that very much, Sir and would be glad of help to be able deal with it.”
“Good. Leave it with me. I will see to it. It will happen. I give you my word. I will NOT let you down.”
[SILENCE]
The other students filed back in and took up the places that they usually sat or stood in.
“All’s well now. I am going to give you a few short briefs before the next session in a week. I would like you to write up this session with YOUR account of just what went on here today — lesson facts. Feelings you felt — your own understanding of Past, Present and Future. I am aware that we haven’t fully covered everything that is on the slide. We must accept that sometimes life has a way of going a different route from the one we chose. It takes us by surprise. We don’t see events coming until they are upon us. Our plans are often undone.”
Lucy said, “We spent a long time in the past and a long time discussing Now but hardly touched on the future. The future is important. Right?”
“Yes, it is essential. We will pick it up next session, I promise, but sometimes today has ‘cares’ enough of its own, and in these cases, we should not THINK about tomorrow. It is our experience of NOW, you see. Some days seem to last a thousand years, and others go in the blink of an eye.”
Lucy said, “Like your lessons, Sir, they fly by. Mathematics for me seems to last 12 hours at least.”
Everyone laughed, for they all saw that the point was well made.
“Please take your time over writing up this session. No ten-minute scribbles, please. Be bold and have courage and say what you mean, nothing more and nothing less. Courage. You either fight, or you take flight. Stay with your subject, wrestle with it, wring its neck for every drop of breath you can get from it. See you next time. Pick up last week’s efforts on your way out. Jones, do not sneak off as I want to have words with you.”
“Okay, Sir.” And they all left bar one student who squirmed like a squirmy thing.
