|
Today's
Meditation:
As
a teacher, I have to smile when I read Winston's
words. I get plenty of students who truly dislike
being taught, for they seem to want to learn things on
their own. They want to use their creativity and
curiosity to find things out themselves, not to be told
how things are. And I have to sympathize with them,
for that's also my preferred way of learning.
But
problems do arise when one or both of two things happen--
either someone isn't ready or willing to learn, or
someone is completely unwilling to be taught.
Our
lives are one long, involved learning process. We
simply can't go through life without learning new things,
though some people seem to be able to do so. What
tends to happen, I find, is that people simply refuse to
put into practice what they've learned, or they refuse to
give any further thought to new information or ideas,
preventing them from becoming part of themselves.
This is a tragic way to approach life, for it keeps us
closed, narrow, and empty, completely stuck in outmoded
ways of doing things and seeing things.
We
may not enjoy being taught, but on the other hand there
are some wonderful teachers with tons of experience out
there, just waiting to teach us what they know. And
while some teachers I've had have turned out to be
arrogant and annoying, the vast majority of them teach
because they love to share and they love to teach.
Some of my most valuable learning experiences have come
from the most unexpected sources, and even though I don't
always like being taught, I know that learning from other
people is one of the most important elements of my
life. If I block off that source of learning, then
where will I be?
|
