We accept this maxim for kids – learning by doing- harder for us to accept it as adults. Somehow most of us have assumed that by now we should have mastered the tasks in front of us – or dropped them. This leads to a very narrow, limited life!
It means that when inspiration strikes we often ignore it – we don’t know how to make THAT happen.
Let’s be a little kinder to ourselves and be the lifelong learners we are meant to be. We don’t do all things well – but we often only find out by trying, and its okay to fail while exploring!
Here’s a funny example – when my kids were little I thought it would be great to gather around the piano, sing Christmas carols, Happy Birthday, etc. so I bought a piano, took weekly lessons, practicing assiduously. After two years my piano teacher kindly said to me, “You do know you’re never going to get any better than this?” sigh….. so I sold my piano and added records, CDs, etc. to our celebrations .
I’m now a great appreciater, still enjoy music enormously but the pressure to perform is over! In this journey through transition after transition, we will undoubtedly need to learn new information, make new contacts, develop new skills, let go of perceptions that don’t fit our lives anymore. And be comfortable with the fact that we may look awkward along the way!
When you allow your curiosity to guide you, it becomes exciting to learn something new. It is a bigger world than we may have imagined. Here is where it may be important for you to have a friend or compatible group to share this journey with – encouragement and support often help us keep going, and sharing the process encourages others.
Ask Yourself-
“As an adult, am I open to having a beginner’s mind?”
“Anything I would like or need to learn right now?”
“How will I begin?”
It’s often easy to begin when you’re excited about something! Enjoy finding that today. Patty & Suzanne
P.S. For those of you who live in the Ventura/Santa Barbara Ca. area, Patty is teaching a watercolor portrait class this Saturday, May 20th. 11-2 p.m. Guaranteed to be fun and learn some great techniques!
Here’s the link: http://redbrickart.com/class-calendar