Letters to Teachers – Written from the Monastery – 03

– A series of thank you letters / notes written to my most important teachers in Australia, written during my initial stay (or soon after) at Newbury Buddhist Monastery, Victoria, Australia –

Note: I strongly believe everything thing around us, everything within us (i.e. thoughts, emotions) teach us. My first teachers would have been my parents (the time I don’t even remember), then a series of teachers appeared. My Life in Australia, that started on my 30th Birthday (a few hours before) on 19th March 2010, was indeed the biggest growth spurt (spiritual) I’ve experienced. So these teachers I have thanked are some who helped my journey

Letter to Jacquie (Jacquie Strudwick)

Today’s Situation:

Let me start with a brief history. When I started running Returnpool Australia, to provide offshore outsourcing to Australian organisations from Returnpool Lanka, Jacquie was one of the first to recognise the value of what I was providing. At the time, I met her as a potential client, and she was already deciding to take resources from Returnpool. Unfortunately, she had to leave the organisation she was working for and it never came to fruition.

However, this lead to a friendship and later we became housemates. I have learnt a lot from her, especially around confidence. She stood by me at the first business networking event I attended organised by Terry Cooper simply to support me, and to provide encouragement. She was also best mates with my Life Coach at the time, Adam Sowden, who happened to be her coach as well. We had a great time, sharing a house in Kingscliff, NSW.

The friendship ended in a major misunderstanding. I cannot speak on behalf of her, but I looked closely to the role I played. She was a tough lady and I was scared to confront anything with her. There had only been once that I had spoken up. This fear played a vital role in clarity of my own communications with her during the latter part of our friendship, where both of us had financial hardships. Irrespective of the paths we took, and irrespective of where we’ve ended up, my time in Kingscliff was a memorable one, and I learnt quite a bit during the year I spent with her.