The Shoreline of Wonder

"All human beings, by nature, desire to learn."

Aristotle

Learning and success walk hand in hand, whether you define your success asfinancial reward or the more elusive satisfactions of a life well lived andpersonal goals achieved.

Too often, after we have left our formal education,we neglect this portion of ourselves. Henry Ford, in commenting upon thistendency, stated, "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty oreighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is tokeep your mind young."

As this millennium draws to an end, we are privilegedto see great strides in scientific discoveries concerning the functioning of themind and the creative endeavors therein. These discoveries force us to viewourselves and our world in new ways. Alvis Toffler recognized this when hewrote, "The illiterate of the year 2000 will not be the individual who cannotread and write, but the one who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

All ofus know we have not reached the peak of our ability to learn and improve ourlives. What then holds us back? Very often it is as simple as giving ourselvespermission to be ignorant. Being ignorant is uncomfortable most of the time,but when we really want to learn, it becomes an adventure instead.

In PeakLearning, Ronald Gross wrote, "What is a peak learner? It is someone who haslearned how to learn, in the fullest sense of the word...This type of learningsprings from within them: it is self-education. Whether sparked by joy or drivenby need, it expresses who they want to become, what they want to be able to do,or to know about...As they wander along the shoreline of wonder--the boundarybetween what they know and the vast sea of things they could know--theyfeel exhilarated by the prospect of constantly learning new things. They knowthat there are always things to know more about, to appreciate more deeply, or tolearn to do. Because they are not afraid of their own ignorance, such learnersaren't afraid to ask dumb questions or admit they don't understandsomething the first time it's explained...When you think of the people you mostadmire, or of yourself at your best, it is easy to recognize that this sort oflearning is a major part of the good life."

Freely, usefully, joyfully. Isn't this how we want to perceive all of life? Success comes from suchexperiences. The successful mother, daughter, career woman, wife all share thesame elation brought about by creative learning. Moondance salutes you, who arethe seekers and the creators. May you find success and enjoy the path oflearning which takes you there.