Learning starts with realizing that we still have more to learn. As the saying goes, "The more I learn, the more I realize how much more I still have to learn." In fact, I am continually surprised at how often I have to re-learn something. I didn’t realize I had to re-learn it, until I actually did re-learn it, at which time I realized I had known it before but somehow forgotten it!
Confused? A better way to say it might be, "You don’t know what you don’t know." And, not only do we not know what we don’t know, but we are forgetting what we used to know! So if we don’t know what we don’t know, and we are forgetting what we do know, it kind of makes you wonder what we DO know, you know?
The point is that the human mind is an organism that requires constant care and feeding in order to stay healthy. And the more you feed it, the more you learn, the better it does and the better you feel. Staying hungry for learning is one of the healthiest things anyone can do in life.
Those who don’t spend any time learning are usually not very much fun to be around. Ignorance is normally louder than wisdom! I got to thinking about this one day, and wondered why more people don’t take an active approach to learning and growing. They buy food constantly to feed their physical hunger. Why wouldn’t they invest just as readily in their mind? Then it occurred to me; when we are hungry our stomachs are empty, our stomachs actually make a growling noise! Perhaps it would be good if our brains made a noise when we start getting ignorant! (Some people would need earplugs before going in to work). But actually, ignorance has a way of getting heard. It may not be "growling" per se, but our tongues normally convey our ignorance loudly enough!
Let’s all avoid the "brain growl" that a lack of learning promotes. Embrace learning at least as much as you embrace that turkey dinner on Thanksgiving! A few CDs, a good book or two, a stimulating conversation with someone that can teach you something, travel to a new place, etc.: these are the delicacies of knowledge. Bon appetite!
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