Sharing with you another lesson from my children.
I asked my 15-year old daughter what she did in school the other day. (You know. Asking questions that require more than a single syllable answer). 🙂
With an exasperated sigh, (not directed at me, but rather towards what her day was like), she replied,
“Just more learning!”
I found that such a delightful response, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She smiled and went about unwinding from school before starting in on her homework and other responsibilities.
I’ve been thinking about her response ever since!
“Just more learning.”
She said it almost as if it were a burden. But she and I know better – that the more knowledge you gain, the more opportunities become available to you. But that learning can be hard and tiring! Yet, what a sense of accomplishment and boost of confidence when we stick with it and continue to learn!
Learning is not just something we do in school. It is a daily, hourly, lifetime experience!
Yet, how often do we look at events or circumstances as being burdens or problems rather than the learning opportunities that they are?
What would it mean if we could look at each day through the eyes of what it is I’m learning, rather than judging it as a “good” day or a “bad” day.
What if I looked over my day and consciously chose to learn from it – what worked and what didn’t and then with awareness applied what I learned?!
Far too often I have fallen into the trap of judging what I deemed as failures and using them to “beat myself up.” But how would we feel if, instead, we say, “OK. That didn’t work. I won’t do that again.” The change in viewpoint then allows me to focus my energy on the growth and improvement without the heavy weight of judgement.
Rather than judging our experiences as mistakes or as a sign of character defect, what if we could willingly and lovingly look at, learn and apply?
Life then becomes one of growth, expansion and progress.
What do you think? Can you look at your day with appreciation (or even exasperation :)) and say, “Just another day of learning?”
Much love,
