Many people will tell you that childhood is the age of discovery. Others will say that it's adolescence when you find out the good and bad of the world and the rules society places upon us. That pretty much by the time you reach adulthood, you know how things are done. And either you conform or you don't. But I believe, like many, that life is a continuous process of learning. That every day we should seek out something new to learn. That we should not put our head down on any surface for the night until we can say we have accomplished that task.
But there are many I see and come in contact with who feel otherwise. I once had a leader in the military tell me that a brand new soldier couldn't teach them anything. I felt sorry for that person. Mainly because it was a young person who helped him learn how to operate his new iPhone! See that type of thinking is close minded and really has no place in society. You should be open and accepting to learning new things. Good or bad. Because ultimately it's up to you whether you retain the information and use it at a later time. That leads me perfectly into the reason why I am writing today. Because I want you to simply use the following three words to enrich your life starting now.
EXPLORE. EXPAND. EVOLVE.
I want you to explore parts of your town that you haven't been to yet. Safely of course. I want you to check out a different genre and style of writing. I suggest The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. It's about finding one's destiny. Or read up on a part of the world that lives very much different from you do. The point is to find something that will require you to be outside your comfort zone. Then I suggest you use that new found information to expand your thinking. To truly have an open mind and understand all the new knowledge you have acquired. What have you got to lose? Absolutely nothing. But you have everything to gain. You truly start to see that everything doesn't revolve around your block or in your city.
Expanding your mind allows your thought process to grow. It allows you to see things through other's eyes and brings a greater understanding and compassion to our troubled world. It won't let you pass that man lying in the street and not feel something. It will compel you to stop and aid him in some way.
And this all leads you to evolve. The most important aspect in this journey. By evolving you leave your old ways and become a better person. You start to see and think differently in situations you are placed in. You subconsciously steer clear from things that bring no value to your life and well-being. You would rather use that time to talk to a young group of kids looking for direction. Or volunteering with a literacy program. Evolving will, in my opinion, make you more compassionate. Not centered on your own individual needs.
They beauty of this whole process? It can be repeated over and over again. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
What new things are you going to explore today?