Learn Something New Everyday
There is one little motto that stands as the most important central pillar of my core identity and belief structures, that motto is this: to try to learn something new every day.
On the face of it those eight little words are really quite simple and straightforward, yet beneath that simplicity lies a greater meaning and understanding. For to learn something new every day I must first be open to new ideas, experiences and lessons. To learn I must be receptive to new information and sometimes willing to actively seek it out. I have to step outside of my comfort zone and engage with thoughts, activities, ideas and even people and places that I might otherwise have no wish to deal with. Particularly given my own very introverted personality this openness is difficult. Often times I do not want to deal with people, certainly not strangers. I do not want to go into new places where I do not feel welcome or comfortable. Yet it is by doing exactly those things, going to new places and interacting with new people, that new lessons can best be learned.
To totally embrace this life philosophy requires inquisitiveness, a willingness to delve deeper. It is one thing to like fortune cookies for instance, it is quite another to understand them as a thing. While simple and straightforward the fortune cookie offers a cultural, historical and culinary complexity that is unimaginable at first glance. Originally coming from Japan and flavored with miso paste these dark brown cookies were brought to the United States by immigrants who opened bakeries in California. When World War II came around and many Japanese Americans were forcefully relocated to internment camps enterprising Chinese immigrants took the opportunity to take over some of the now vacant businesses. These new Chinese businessmen swapped out the miso paste for sugar to create a lighter and sweeter treat and added small paper fortunes taken from elements of Chinese culture to create the final form of the fortune cookie. While this simple treat is widely recognized throughout the United States it is all but unheard of back in either China or Japan. See, there was more to the story than you thought wasn't there?
Even the most simple things around us often have a rich and complex origin just waiting to be discovered and appreciated. From the woodcarving history of the dove-tail join to the origin of denim jeans there is a history and story behind and around almost anything in our lives, all we have to do is look for it.
That does not mean however that every new thing learned has to be some deep and cultured history of something. New cooking recipes, a new word from a different language, tasting a new food or drink, trying a new skill or talking to someone new and learning a little about them. Sometimes the most mundane and unexpected encounters and experiences have a lesson or piece of information in them to be learned.
It is also important not to become obsessed with keeping a tally. I do not record my new experiences or learning and certainly do not limit myself to one new thing learned a day. Some days I won't really learn anything, other days a spark of imagination will have me ravenously delving into the entire history of something. I remember when the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern movie came out there was some public misunderstanding of the character that piqued my curiosity. Ultimately I was hurled into hours of research into the entire history and lore of the lantern universe. To this day I think it is my favorite part of the DC franchise, I know most people prefer Batman or Superman, I am just weird like that.
The important thing is that this motto is not about a tally, it is not a score to be kept, or a feat to be accomplished. Rather the motto is a reminder to be open, inquisitive and thoughtful. These eight little words are a constant whisper in the back of my mind urging me whenever a new opportunity appears or a new question comes up to: "give it a try, find out more, learn something new." It is a constant push against complacency and isolation, an urge to grow and expand in knowledge and experience. But perhaps most importantly of all it is a reminder that learning is never finished, never complete, never done. There is always something new to learn, a new perspective to discover, a new history to appreciate, a new skill to acquire. From the moment we are born to the moment we pass from this world our learning should never stop and these eight little words are my way of ensuring I never do and maybe they can help you do the same.
On the face of it those eight little words are really quite simple and straightforward, yet beneath that simplicity lies a greater meaning and understanding. For to learn something new every day I must first be open to new ideas, experiences and lessons. To learn I must be receptive to new information and sometimes willing to actively seek it out. I have to step outside of my comfort zone and engage with thoughts, activities, ideas and even people and places that I might otherwise have no wish to deal with. Particularly given my own very introverted personality this openness is difficult. Often times I do not want to deal with people, certainly not strangers. I do not want to go into new places where I do not feel welcome or comfortable. Yet it is by doing exactly those things, going to new places and interacting with new people, that new lessons can best be learned.
To totally embrace this life philosophy requires inquisitiveness, a willingness to delve deeper. It is one thing to like fortune cookies for instance, it is quite another to understand them as a thing. While simple and straightforward the fortune cookie offers a cultural, historical and culinary complexity that is unimaginable at first glance. Originally coming from Japan and flavored with miso paste these dark brown cookies were brought to the United States by immigrants who opened bakeries in California. When World War II came around and many Japanese Americans were forcefully relocated to internment camps enterprising Chinese immigrants took the opportunity to take over some of the now vacant businesses. These new Chinese businessmen swapped out the miso paste for sugar to create a lighter and sweeter treat and added small paper fortunes taken from elements of Chinese culture to create the final form of the fortune cookie. While this simple treat is widely recognized throughout the United States it is all but unheard of back in either China or Japan. See, there was more to the story than you thought wasn't there? Even the most simple things around us often have a rich and complex origin just waiting to be discovered and appreciated. From the woodcarving history of the dove-tail join to the origin of denim jeans there is a history and story behind and around almost anything in our lives, all we have to do is look for it.
That does not mean however that every new thing learned has to be some deep and cultured history of something. New cooking recipes, a new word from a different language, tasting a new food or drink, trying a new skill or talking to someone new and learning a little about them. Sometimes the most mundane and unexpected encounters and experiences have a lesson or piece of information in them to be learned.
It is also important not to become obsessed with keeping a tally. I do not record my new experiences or learning and certainly do not limit myself to one new thing learned a day. Some days I won't really learn anything, other days a spark of imagination will have me ravenously delving into the entire history of something. I remember when the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern movie came out there was some public misunderstanding of the character that piqued my curiosity. Ultimately I was hurled into hours of research into the entire history and lore of the lantern universe. To this day I think it is my favorite part of the DC franchise, I know most people prefer Batman or Superman, I am just weird like that.
The important thing is that this motto is not about a tally, it is not a score to be kept, or a feat to be accomplished. Rather the motto is a reminder to be open, inquisitive and thoughtful. These eight little words are a constant whisper in the back of my mind urging me whenever a new opportunity appears or a new question comes up to: "give it a try, find out more, learn something new." It is a constant push against complacency and isolation, an urge to grow and expand in knowledge and experience. But perhaps most importantly of all it is a reminder that learning is never finished, never complete, never done. There is always something new to learn, a new perspective to discover, a new history to appreciate, a new skill to acquire. From the moment we are born to the moment we pass from this world our learning should never stop and these eight little words are my way of ensuring I never do and maybe they can help you do the same.
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