MY SISTER MIRIAM is the pickle lady of New Annan, Nova Scotia. On a Friday afternoon last fall, the smell of bubbling brine filled her kitchen, and clean, empty mason jars lined her counter. She was ready to host a picklemaking session for two neighbours who had always wanted to preserve vegetables but didn’t know how.
For those few hours, Miriam was a mentor to her friends, a skilled guide sharing her own knowledge to empower others a little further along on a particular journey. The trio made salsa, pickles, relish and a batch of very good memories. “The minute we stop sharing and learning from others,” says Miriam, “we stop growing.”
While mentoring is typically associated with office settings and career advancement, anyone could be a mentor. We can share our skills in our kitchens and backyards, over the phone or online, and within our already-established friend groups.
A mentoring relationship can last a lifetime or it can be clearly defined in time, scope and definition, such as a few hours of intense pickling. Whatever the case may be, it’s likely we all have beneficial skills, advice and hardearned lessons to pass on to someone else—just as we all, in turn, have a list of things we’d like to learn or areas in which we would love to grow.
If you’re ready to start mentoring (or to be mentored), here are some insights from mentors and mentees alike to help it go well right from the start.
Establish Ground Rules
This story is from the July 2023 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2023 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Have Child, Will Travel
Bringing my kid on my around-the-world adventures helped me see her in new and unexpected ways
As Gods Among Us
A photographer explores the gamut of India’s ritual performers who embody deities as a form of worship
My stutter, Myself
If others don't notice my stutter, can I really call myself a stutterer?
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Modification
A Queensland mechanic customizes bikes so veterans can get riding again
I Tried It...Exercises to Relieve Tech Neck
I STARE AT MY phone for five hours a day.
The Upside of Getting Lost
I was in the woods with my family and we'd lost our way. My phone was dead. It was getting dark. How could this possibly be a good thing?
A MOTHER'S CONVICTION
AFTER ALL FOUR OF KATHLEEN FOLBIGG'S CHILDREN DIED IN INFANCY, A COURT FOUND HER GUILTY OF MURDER. TWENTY YEARS LATER, SCIENCE FINALLY UNCOVERED THE TRUTH
KITT THE COURAGEOUS K-9
Officer Bill Cushing needed a partner. His dog needed a purpose. Together, they rescued each other
Lite, Unplugged
Could you get through seven days without looking at a device? I tried—here’s what happened
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.