What it Doesn't Mean
Our Challenges Deepen our Understanding
In this sense the person who had great challenges in reading, and therefore had to spend years training their eye-brain coordination, becomes an expert on it. They acquire the tools to teach it to others who also have dyslexia (and may even shed light on things that are relevant to those that don't). Furthermore, it is often the case that those with a particular learning disability would rather be taught by someone who had it and overcame it, than someone who never had it (there are exceptions of course).
This idea of teaching what we most need to learn (i.e. have studied the most) applies to all kinds of things people learn and teach through out life. If you are overcoming a tendency towards OCD, for example, you have probably been trying out all kinds of tools to put yourself in the present moment and accept things are OK as they are - tools that others that more naturally live in the present perhaps use but not necessarily consciously, and so they are less apt to be able to articulate "how" they are doing it. Another common example is eating issues. Those who have been through it and overcome it are often considered more "credible" on the topic as a teacher than someone that hasn't.
Your Challenges are Also a Key to Your Gifts!
We invite you to think about the areas you have struggled with the most, and think about what you have learned about them. Now of course we all have unique perspectives on everything there is to experience in life - and we encourage people to share their insights on many different topics. But in this case, we are talking about those areas that you have had the most difficult time with.
Learning from Example
Lots and lots of things can be taught by example. As I've mentioned before, I had a friend who seemed to attract wonderful things into her life all the time, and so I modeled certain things after her, such as taking immaculate care of the space and things I DO have. But if I had asked her outright, "how do you have a fulfilling life?", odds are she wouldn't be able to articulate exactly how she does it. Because she never had to study it, it always just came naturally to her.
The main reminder here is that "anyone can be your friend or teacher" as Sir Pepe so wisely taught me in Refections. But there are different kinds of learning and teaching. And the good news is this counter-intuitive perspective that areas we have had the hardest struggles may actually be our expertise! Rest assured, your pain and suffering is not for naught!