Living in the Forest

I was sitting at the table at the Convent, simply eating breakfast.  I sat among elders as we chatted.  I was complaining about spending the whole day blowing leaves.  My beloved Ghanian friend commented assumed I was using the leaves in the garden.  I said no, I was just trying to get them out of the way.  She smiled and gave me a proverb.  "You live in the forest, but you don't know how to live with it."
I stammered a bit and realized how true this statement was.  It is true not only in the actual sense (we live on 16 acres of primarily forest), but also in a metaphorical sense.  I had never thought of things this way.
This way of teaching the younger generation has been lost in our culture.  A while back, she had explained to me how the children are raised in Ghana.  The elders use proverbs.  The children are taught different proverbs as they are growing up.  Then, as the children are living their every day lives, usually a situation presents itself.  If an elder wants to make a point, she will simply repeat part of a proverb.  The child then gets to ponder the situation in contrast to the proverb and learn.
I think, in many ways, our southern culture lends some to this.  I've always know the soft spoken older person that will speak a humble truth when the situation presents itself.  You have to listen closely and often, or you will miss it.
I guess I could have missed this particular proverb if I had been in a hurry.  She only said it once.  I think really wise people understand that the student has to be ready to hear.  It makes me wonder how many times I have been too busy, too preoccupied.  I don't dare count all of the times I was more worried about making my point, than to listen.
So, I look at the kids of mine and wonder how I can try to guide them in this way.  I think the trickiest part is letting the go through their day watching, listening to them.  If they are really living their own lives, they'll find themselves in many real-life situations that they get to learn from.  I think this is much of the substance of life.