To Learn

 First Steps - Vincent Van Gogh

Public Domain

From our first breath, we are learning.  We learn to recognize voices, scents and faces of our loved ones. We learn to form sounds into words, sentences, and eventually, put those words onto paper creating written language. We learn to make our bodies move.  We rollover, crawl, walk, skip, run, swim and climb.

Throughout our lives, we learn hundreds of thousands of things. We never stop learning, which is one of the gifts Creator gave us...the ability to continue to learn.  There is no expiration date on our ability to learn.  Even those with diseases and conditions such as stroke or Alzheimer's can still learn.

So, as the students return to our schools, as the big yellow buses pass us on the road, on the highways, as our leaders gather to debate the future of our country and the world, let us remember that we are still learning.

We may learn that those we placed in office are not doing what we hoped they will do. We may learn that our schools are not safe for our children.  We may learn that the world is in immediate and drastic need of changes in order for us all to survive.  But learning is not enough.

Once we learn, we must act, we must try and try again to gain the best possible outcome.  A child doesn't stop trying to walk simply because he or she falls the first time.  We must not stop practicing our skills of critical thinking. We must not stop voting for those we believe will make a difference in this world.  We must not stop caring, being compassionate, holding out our hands in help or doing what we can to create change in our own small corner of the world.

We may learn that there is hate, but that doesn't stop us from continuing to love.  We may learn there is fear, but that doesn't stop us from being courageous.  We may learn there are lies, but that doesn't stop us from searching for the truth.

May we take what we learn each day and use it to create a world where there is peace, love and compassion for all.  

Namasté