WEEK 2 - MENTOR / TORMENTOR

I am always amazed how my life shuffles to align things about for me. Last week, I stumbled across two articles on mentoring (or "life coaching") while attending to things completely unrelated to this course work. One in fact was while waiting for a haircut. Being the infomaniac that I am, I quickly buried myself in the article until the stylist stood in front of me and "Ahem-ed" me to attention, tired of calling out my name. Synchronicity - got to love it.

My mentor is someone who sees "me", to quote Oliver Cromwell, "warts and all". My mentor is not fooled by any smoke and mirrors I can and will likely try to use to curry favour nor fooled by their own concepts and prejudices as to what I should be.

My mentor is learned and wise. Learned in a variety of ways to get me from A to B and wise in applying these methods to my strengths and weaknesses, even with a swift kick in the backside to get me to C if need be.

My mentor is in sync with me. I know I have a lot of energy: it has to flow out and it has to return. I know my mentor should have a lot as well, which will flow to me, through me and return. Any resistance to the other's current will weaken us both.

My mentor respects me and wants the best for me for my sake alone. My mentor is not my friend, nor my "buddy" nor anything else but my mentor. Nor is my mentor focused on Henry Higginsing me into a show piece. My mentor is there for me. Any friendship that could evolve after the dust settles on our work together for this course is gravy, and lucky me.

My mentor will be someone who will mold me and, though eventually possibly long gone, be part of me for the rest of my life just as many in my past have touched me and are still at a thought's reach though I remain myself. 

My mentor and I will laugh, argue, debate, share, trust each other and both, in our own way, grow.