Hi, This is Wayne Brown from Life Back On Track. 

Welcome to the latest episode. In this one. I want to talk about an incident that happened in my life that sparked quite a number of journeys and it came from the most unlikely of sources. You see, my father who was the instigator of these journeys was and still is someone who tends to keep his opinion to himself in regards to your life. He's not always forthcoming with advice or anything like that. 

Many years ago when my first wife left, I was visiting my father and this was only probably about five or six months after the separation. So everything was still very raw. I was still processing a lot of things, and as we're visiting my father, we were out in the backyard and my sons were playing, my father and I were talking and as we were playing, my youngest son did something that displeased me. I suppose it was probably an impulse rather than a thought out action. I smacked his bum and my father who bless him, is like I said, not someone who normally puts forward an opinion or a statement in that sort of context, but he looked at me and he said, "Why are you taking it out on him? 

Now, at the time, it didn't really hit me with any massive magnitude and it was only later once I had gone home and I put my sons to bed, that the house was quiet and I had that bit of time to myself that the impact of that statement hit me, and the reason it hit me so hard is because there was a number of levels to it which at first I hadn't contemplated or been aware of until I had that chance to sit and think about it. 

The crazy thing is that sometimes the best lessons can come from the most unlikely places at the most unlikely times and in the most unlikely method. So this was very unexpected. So I sat there thinking about the different levels of this statement that my father had made, and on the surface it would look relatively simple. The more I thought about it, is it made me look at my parenting and the safe space that I was creating for my sons so that they could also come to grips with their parents splitting up because that situation wasn't just about me, it wasn't just about their mother, it was about them as well. 

It got me thinking about that and it also got me thinking about the way I processed anger, the way that I expressed my anger, and also what it meant to me. It also got me thinking about where I was myself in regards to processing that relationship and being able to move forward after learning what I needed from it. 

So, that statement from my father, at first didn't seem like that big a deal. However, the more I thought about it and there was more than those three layers, but they were the three major ones that hit me and it got me thinking about those. It really got me thinking about my role as a parent, my role as a father, my role of creating a safe space for my sons. 

So that when they came over they were comfortable with me and all of these other aspects of my life. It really got me thinking about it and it's funny for many years, I never even mentioned this to my father and a number of years ago we went away, we did a golfing holiday and while we were driving I thought this is a perfect opportunity, he's in the car. He can't go anywhere. 

So, I may as well talk to him about it. So I thanked him for that and let him know the impact that one simple line had on me and how much of a profound effect it had, and also letting him know that he may not have meant a massive amount by it. It did, however, make a massive difference to my life, the way I processed my anger and looked at my anger, and expressed my anger also. That looking at my anger and stuff also impacted my relationships, my friendships, all these different aspects. 

It just had a domino effect on many different areas of my life. So the reason I wanted to tell you this story is I wanted to make you aware that sometimes the thing that will flip your life around can be right in front of you. It can be a song, that could be a lyric, it could be a book that you read, it could be an off-hand comment like my father's where something can open you up to a new you, a new version of you, an aspect of you you hadn't contemplated before.

So this episode was more about getting you to think about where your lessons are coming from, because sometimes our best teacher can be right in front of us and we don't even realise it. A teacher that I love to use, is children. They remind me to chill out a bit, relax, be in the moment and enjoy life and use my creativity and having those sorts of people in my life makes a big difference. So look for your teacher. You can be the student and also be aware that sometimes you're the teacher for someone else who's a student. 

So that's it. Nice, deep philosophical pondering for this episode. Go out. Look for your lessons, become that best version of you, so that the people you love and care about can get the best version of you. All right, That's it. If you've got any questions, fire them through. Otherwise, we'll catch you on the next podcast.

You can listen to the Life Back On Track podcast on your favourite platform by visiting 

our podcast website. Click HERE to check it out.
 You can also listen to my radio show “All About Relationships” which has its own 

podcast on your favourite platform by clicking HERE Thanks for listening.