A friend recently asked me for some thoughts on learning for a project she’s working on.  I say recently because it sounds more acceptable.  In truth, I was asked about this many months ago.  The person who asked me spends a lot of time learning.  It is a passion of hers and one I admire.  She also seems to be incredibly disciplined with her time.  I admire that too.  She inspires and encourages me.

Feeling honoured to be asked and not wanting to disappoint her, I kept hoping for some profound ideas or words of wisdom, but the months have passed by without any spectacular revelations.  Each time I considered the topic, I would feel frustrated.  There are so many things I myself would like to learn and do.  So many!  But that old felon Busyness seems to have a way of reducing any spare time down to a bare minimum.  Even my French language learning is usually squashed into my lunch break at work, or clumsily practised during my nightly teeth-brushing and ever-hopeful skin-embalming routine. Aside from stopping work, or hiring a housecleaner and cook, there doesn’t seem to be much chance of achieving my learning goals.  I feel I would need five lifetimes at least to tick off even a quarter of the things I would love to be truly educated in.

So who am I to offer thoughts on the topic of learning?  No-one at all really.  But I’ve found the pondering an interesting exercise and here are my two cents worth …

I’ve begun to realise just how much learning takes place every day of my life.  Thus far (she says as though she’s not been going all that long!), the majority of it hasn’t come about as a result of full-time, concentrated study, well not as an adult anyway.  Only two years of my adult life have been assigned to that method of learning.  I know that countless hours of intentional learning have been ‘snatched’ during the normal course of my daily life – hours of singing exercises while driving to and from work, or waiting in the car while my sons were at football and wrestling training; many books read while sitting or standing on the train, when that was my mode of transport for the season.  Documentaries have been watched while on the exercycle;  audiobooks and podcasts listened to while carrying out household tasks.  Intentional learning has definitely been squeezed in where possible.

But as I’ve taken a few steps further back and looked at my life as a whole, I’ve realised that so much knowledge has been and continues to be gleaned from other far less intentional yet just as integral sources – namely conversation, observation, lived experience and the quiet whisperings of my Maker.

At times a conversation, or even just one memorable sentence within a conversation has proved vital in my understanding of a topic or has had a major influence on how I viewed a situation.  Conversations have produced enlightenment, enrichment, challenge and encouragement.  And being a person who works things out by talking things out, this shouldn’t really surprise me!

Oh the precious lessons I have learnt by simply watching other people.  Observing the way that kindness when given can build someone up, and when withheld can make someone crumble; learning about long-time love as I watch my very elderly neighbours still holding hands on their daily walk, or passing another neighbour as she faithfully and cheerfully pushes her adult daughter with acute special needs in a pushchair up and down the surrounding streets; gaining a deeper understanding about what generosity means as I see a cafe customer, riddled with pain due to deteriorating health, come in year after year, slower each time but with a smile on his face, to give the staff gifts at Christmas.

Lessons learnt from making mistakes or from giving things a go and not getting them quite right the first time – hmm, these are not normally my favourite kind.  I’m a perfectionist – there, it’s out!  It’s a jolly frustrating trait and I’m working on it, but it certainly doesn’t pair too well with the “She’ll Be Right” attitude that I’m sure would make the  cruising through life and working it out as you go style of living a whole lot easier.  Still, these hard-won lessons, and there have been many (many, many!) are not easily forgotten and have hopefully resulted in a stronger and wiser me – but I still childishly have to admit that I would rather just avoid these ones!  Sigh.

And when I actually manage to slow down and be still, my Maker whispers to me – about fears that need to be faced and finally dealt with in order to grow, about things He would have me do and people He would have me love; and how He wants me never to stop learning about life and about Him, the One who gave life to me.

French verb “apprendre” – to learn