By Tshedrup Dorji, YI Member. 

Well to start off; what I liked about the first day of the summer training –  it was really fascinating to get together in the class to learn new things again. The class began with a meditation circle where we shared about our experiences and how we felt about it. Listening to various expressions, it’s very interesting to know that how different our feelings are. Many of us were feeling relaxed, calm and refreshed enough to start on the great day of learning. The ground rules for the training session started drawing its boundary to manage us during the whole course of training session where I got stuck for a while in my thought if such rules are really necessary? Can’t learning happen without this rules set, in a liberal environment? But I was not against the idea, I conformed to it as most seem to believe this culture works.

The field day of the learning was from active listening to service learning. I have had the experience of that left out feeling in my life when I knew somebody is not seriously listening to my story and I also remember the times when I just nodded pretending to be listening to his/her stories, but now I realized what we lacked in both of us the value active listening which is why our conversation ended up as mere talking – we lost a lot of interesting and meaningful things that could have come up. How relieved one could have felt to be listened and how big learning/understanding could have happened by listening to different ideas and belief of the others. So, in a democracy where we are to share what we believe and are concerned about also requires active listening in all citizens – to understand and empathize the situation with open minds. it is hardly seen about things working out well mainly due to reason that we rarely listen to them.

Service learning is a new term for me. I can relate to the principle of service learning to the situation such as “Win-Win” and “Learn and Earn”. I work for some cause and in return I learn a lot from my engagement in that project. which further help me to reflect and review my next project with enhanced knowledge and wisdom to take the next project in better ways.

Finally the first habit of heart was something I cannot at all argue with fact that nothing works on its own. Some may play with words rephrasing that “we are all together also means we are not together” but anyhow both exists due to their presence as like a part of the whole. so we are all very interdependent to each other and it’s important we co-exist with all forms of life.

Despite all this essential academic learning I truly appreciated how YI has always been an open and comfortable platforms to share any kind of thoughts/opinion/challenges, which receives enough response, solutions, and attention to work out what is amiss and really look into development of positive energy without been judged. i only wish if all the people around had the same spirit as of YI.


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