Listen To Your Gut

Years ago I taught a parenting class for our school district, specifically aimed at helping families combat drug abuse.  One of the principles taught in the class was to pay attention to your instincts.  If something feels funny, there will be a reason.  I learned, and taught, that our subconscious picks up on things and sends warning signals to our brain which we don't always recognize.  A lot of times something bothers us, but since we have no logical proof that anything is wrong we ignore the warning.  We need to trust our first impulse more.

I had a very poignant experience which brought this principle home to me as I taught these classes.  Sometimes I taught the classes to teachers in the district.  On the first night of one of these sessions a teacher walked into my class who immediately sent off all kinds of warning bells in my head.  He was a Junior High School History Teacher, but he looked like a reject from the hippie era.  He was in his late 20's, his hair was long and his clothing made him look more like a druggie than a teacher.  The first thing I thought was, "What is this guy doing in a drug prevention class?  He looks like he's one of the people out there doing the drugs!"

As the class began, though, and all through the evening, I readjusted my original impression.  The guy seemed to be really on top of things, concerned about drug abuse and really dedicated to helping his students.  By the time I went home that night I was kicking myself for being so quick to pass judgement on someone.  I decided he must just be trying to dress like the kids so they would relate to him.

A few days before the next class was held our school psychologist called me and asked if I could meet with him.  I wondered what on earth for, but as soon as I got a break I went down.  He apologized for calling me away from my class, but he said he wanted to let me know in person, before I heard through the grape vine, that one of the members of the class I was teaching for the district had died.  It was this History Teacher.  The psychologist told me that no one knew the details yet, but they were sure to come out in the newspaper soon.  My student had died from an overdose of drugs.  Apparently this young man had struggled with chemical dependency for years.  He had been arrested a few months earlier, and as part of his rehabilitation he was required to take my drug prevention class.  He really wanted to get clean and turn his life around, but something had happened, he'd met up with some of his old friends, and in the end he died.

I was shocked and sad.  What a tragic ending to a life so full of promise, but also what a reconfirmation of the principle I was supposed to be teaching to my students.  If your gut tells you something is wrong, there's a reason for it.