Oh the Places You Will Go
by Dorien
Its supposed to be a childrens poem but its perfect for we larger beings too, dont you think?
And so it is with education and learning. Rightly, we focus tremendous energy on creating the best learning environment fo our children. The mental, physical and emotional development that takes place in their early years will be imprinted for life, and it is our responsibility as their careers and guardians, whether they are biologically our children or not, to gift them the best possible foundation. It matters to me, and I am sure to you, that children everywhere are supported and nurtured.
And I am continually reminded that I too am still a child in so many ways. No matter how many wrinkles, bags and sags, hair or lack of, we are all still babies, still in need of support and nurture.
And still so much in need of education and learning. Fortunately, life is designed to give us exactly that. How cool!
I firmly believe, indeed I know from my own experience, that everything is a gift, full of lessons, if I will just take the time to discover them. If I can only put my ego down for long enough to look at what I might learn. Not always easy, but it makes school, sorry, life easier in the long run. I have a model I call the Personal Power Grid - it has personal responsibility and learning as its core, and helps us to understand the journey from tough times to treasure. If youd like a copy of it, email me on catherine@ palinbrinkworth.com.
But back to school. Someone once told me that the world is a classroom full of teachers, if I will bother to find out their particular wisdom. Interesting, isnt it! Its so easy to look and judge someone as different or uncomfortable even, when simple acknowledgement and acceptance can open a rich textbook full of learning. Abraham Lincoln is reported to have said I really dont like that man - I must get to know him better. Such humility, courage and wisdom! Of course I may still decide I dont want to be close - no matter how much learning I could do!
Scott Washington, my Change Consultancy teacher many years ago, introduced me to the work of Robert Fritz, who writes on The Path of Least Resistance. Fritz says that the secret to achieving our goals always lies with our ability to hang out with tension; the ability to live through discomfort, and learn from it, while we remain committed to our goals. Those of you who, like me, have relocated countries certainly know that one.
Learning is one of my very favourite things to do. It isnt alwayscomfortable. In fact we have an inner brain that is designed to preserve homeostatis, to ensure stability, so we actually have an inbuilt resistance to change, an inevitable result of learning. So I might not like it at the time. But I can always appreciate it afterwards.
Dont you think life is miraculous?
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