Learning from the Stars

"You learn something new every day".

How many times have you heard that sentence? Chances
are, many many many times over the course of your
lifetime you have heard those six words or some similar
combination. Sometimes when we have phrases like this
repeatedly, we forget or somehow stop hearing the
significance in the message.

Using the thesaurus in my word processor, I was able to
tap into a list of twelve words which also mean "learn".
There are subtle nuances to each word which may give the
phrase more power or meaning to you.

Here is the list, which I will give in a form where you
will see the whole statement repeated, the only change
being the word "LEARN".

1. You absorb something new every day.

2. You acquire something new every day.

3. You ascertain something new every day.

4. You comprehend something new every day.

5. You digest something new every day.

6. You discover something new every day.

7. You divine something new every day.

8. You glean something new every day.

9. You grasp something new every day.

10. You master something new every day.

11. You realize something new every day.

12. You understand something new every day.

Which three of the statements touch you the most? Which
ones ring the most true to you? Can you see the
difference using those three might make in your not
only hearing this truth, also knowing it and living it?

In the spirit of learning something new every day,
notice that in the paragraph above I purposefully
engaged in using different senses to "speak" to you.
I mentioned "touching" "ringing" and "seeing". That
technique was used so that people who learn through
different sensory experiences would all "learn
something new".

A lifestyle of "learning" (gleaning, discovering,
understanding) something new everyday includes taking
what you have gleaned and using it. It contains a
spirit of application so that we can integrate the new
skill into our life to increase our level of
understanding.

As we continue to discover new facts, as we continue to
grow through new experiences, we invite others along for
the journey. We bring our world into a bright shiny
new context.

As each day dawns, it is ripe with possibilities. It
is wanting to blossom. It is asking us to partner with it.

For the next week (or more) begin
taking a written tally of what you are learning new each
day. For example, this past Saturday I learned that
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star has five verses. I also
learned that "Faust" was a drama written by Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe. Finally, I about a new program from
my friend Cathy: a way to "send my books out into the
wild" thus regenerating their message through new readers.

And this was all before Noon.

Now you might think: "And who cares that Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star" has five verses!

Well, when I look at life through the lense of Discovery,
I think: "What areas in my life has verses that are yet
unplayed? How might I discover those verses?" Or "What
verses are my children singing every day that I am
missing?" (You might put colleague, employee, spouse,
best friend, neighbor in place of children). "What
verses do I need to sing in order to get my big project
complete?"

Taking something simple like Twinkle, Twinkle and
playing with it in this way really brings much more
forward than is on the surface. And the joy is, when
you are creating playfully, it will not take MORE of
your time, the unfolding will simply partner with you
as you are doing whatever you were going to do anyway!

Simply try this out. Commit to learning something new. Today.