From Amanda's very early writing (1990s to early 2000s), shared as it was originally written.
Learning
"The best thing for being sad'" replied Merlin, beginning to huff and blow, "is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devasted by evil lunatics, or know your honor tramples in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then - to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind cannot exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by , never fear or distrust and never dream of regretting.
Learning is the thing for you. Look at what a lot of things there are to learn - pure science, the only purity there is. You can learn astronomy in a lifetime, natural history in three, literature in six. And then, after you have exhausted a million lifetimes in biology and medicine and theocriticism and geography and history and economics, why , you can start to make a cartwheel out of the appropriate wood, or spend fifty years learning to begin to learn to beat your adversary at fencing. After that you can start again on mathematics until it is time to learn to plow."
This quote from Terence H. White's book, The Once and Future King (New york, G.P. Putnam's sons, 1958) I read in Wayne Dwyer's book Your Erroneous Zones years ago and I have always remembered it.
What a fantastic approach to life! And how true the statements about learning are.
This was reinforced again for me a couple of weeks ago. Attending a speakers conference i had the great pleasure of meeting Glenn Capelli - not only an extraordinary speaker but also an extraordinary person. He has devoted his life to the study of learning - in organizations, in schools and in life. Apart from being a fantastic keynote speaker, he has a company (based in Perth) which works with organizations to facilitate communication, corporate learning and implementation of new systems - both nationally and internationally. Part time he works to improve self esteem of children and improve learning in schools.
Ever since I was a little girl. I have had a passion for learning. In fact, to my surprise, when asked to write down the most important
Have you ever taken classes in something and felt a great sense of achievement when you have accomplished it? Or even if you didn't finish the classes, your mind is distracted and your knowledge base broadened.
I remember at University when I was studying psychology, we were running an experiment on 'revitalising' older folks and seeing if we could affect their brain function. A group of 70 year olds (or thereabouts) were together a few times a week and taught a number of new card games and other skill based aactivities - with a great result. All of them became more alert, brain function improved and they had more 'zip in thier step'! Think of all the older - and dare I say it, younger - people who stop using or challenging thier brains when they leave school. Sometimes I wonder how much they challenged thier minds while they were at school!
There is so much to leran as Merlin says - if you want to boost self esteem and confidence; be a more interesting conversationalist, have more energy, eliminate depression, pass time, improve your job opportunities and generally feel lbetter about yourself why not look at learning something new?
Most schools have adult education classes at night- you can learn flower arranging, Ikebana, carpentry (my favorite!), computers, painting, watercolours, history, all kinds of dancing (this one is fantastic because it improves coordination, and fitness and you get to touch other people as well - remember how good that is for your immune system), tapestry and other handicrafts, gemology, upholstery, french polishing, gardening, speed reading, massage (you guessed it - another one of my favouites), astrology, astronomy, archeology, accounting and business skills, and on and on and on the list goes.
What interests you? What have you always wanted to know more about? Have you ever thought of formal study at a University? Or do you think you're too old; can't learn; couldn't do it? Go on - try it! Find out what courses you local University or Technical College offers and how you can apply as a mature (or very mature!) student. Mature students often perform much better than the average young student because they want to learn and they take time to learn exam technique and they love the study and mind expansion. So if you're feeling sad lonely (as the song goes) take yourself off to the nearing learning house and learn three new things.
If these steps are too big for you then visit your local municipal library and search through the books to find something that interests you. It's a more lonely way to learn , you may not meet as many people as if you were involved in a class, but it's a great place to start.
One of my favorite oldies - Blanch - is 83 years young as thay say. She is amazing. This woman thinks like a 30 year old - and she knows everything that's going on! All the 'young' people that meet her think she's fantastic - her mind is sharper than most of ours because she constantly challenges it. She reads newspapers, listens to and watches current affairs programs, goes to the movies once a week, has a massage once a week adn talks to everyone. And remembers what they said! She'a always learning - maybe not at formal classes, but she's always asking questions and is a sponge for information when she listens to their answers. So you don't have to leave the house to learn - you can just ask others questions about what they have been doing and what they think.
So to me, Blanch is the female and modern day version of Merlin - and living proof that learning is the thing for us - it keep sus happy and young and vital and interesting and interested. Make it a goal - to learn something new every day, no matter how small - keep a book in which you write what you learned that day - you'll be amaxed at how this little exercise will help you appreciate life more fully - and that's what wellness isall about. Thanks Merlin - and Blanch.
