The Advanced Student

I love the self-confidence that can accompany being a student.

I went to a local massage clinic tonight.  Been there many times. The quality of the student bodywork ranges from marvelous to “wow, you sure have picked the wrong profession.” Yet, more times than not, for $35, it fulfills its purpose. 

Tonight was probably my 50^th time there in the past four years. A lovely young man greeted me with a smile. At the clinic you don’t know the gender of your massage therapist nor the type of massage you will receive before hand. I ask him what type of massage will he being doing tonight?

He pauses. They never pause, so I feel a bit on edge.  He tells me that he is an advanced student so I can have whatever type of massage I like. Inside I chuckle. An advanced student can not have been in the business for too long, right? But something about the way he says that he is an advanced student is interesting to me.  Sure there was some cockiness to it, but he also conveyed a genuine feeling of confidence in his abilities.

Turns out, he was a rock star and a rookie at the same time. Great hands, kind heart, good energy match. There was nothing tentative about his touch.  Most students hesitate and fumble a bit as they find their way in the session.  Each point of contact had solidness to it.  And what he lacked in a touch that only comes with decades, still melted through the layers of my muscles.

I left smiling. Yet the gift that I took away wasn’t in the massage, directly. It was his embodiment of what it means to be an advanced student. The combination of the confidence and care he conveyed with his hands, and his hubris.

For me, being an advanced student reminds me of all I have still to learn. For him being an advanced student meant that he had a lot to offer.

Thank you for the lesson – from one who is learning news ways to advance my learning.