Guru means ‘remover of darkness‘ in Sanskrit.  It is that person or situation that shows you the light, revealing the truth, teaching and guiding you.  Every person we encounter on the street can be our guru if we approach them from that perspective.  

Lately, whenever I have the urge to judge someone or say or think something negative about someone, I try to think about what I can learn from them instead. Doing this immediately rescues me from negative thinking and reveals to me the positive aspects of their personality. Rather than being bogged down by my own judgment of someone else, I can subtlety transition into a more peaceful mindset.  When situations don’t go the way we want, we can react and freak out or see them as our teacher, presenting us with a beautiful lesson.  This transition in approach  has made a world of difference to me.  It is both humbling and uplifting to the see to world as your teacher.