A recent horoscope reminded me that we never cease being students, never cease learning, never lose the need and desire to learn.    

                                              You undoubtedly understand that you have a lot to learn at the moment.

                                              In a way, you accept being a student more and more as you age. You

                                              have the maturity to recognize that this is a way of being that ultimately

                                              makes you stronger on the inside. However, be clear about who will

                                              teach you. Not everyone has meaningful information to impart!

                                   I've thought of myself as a student all my life. I've never lost the desire to learn and I feel a continued need to learn. However, until I received this horoscope, I had begun to feel a little old to be a student, a little out of place as a student. After I received this, I began to think again about learning and realized that none of us is too old to learn, that as long as we continue to seek and acquire knowledge we're not really old, we're still young and vibrant.

                                    We can't know everything we'd like to know. Even in a long lifetime, we can't read all the books that interest us, we can't listen to all the music that appeals to us, we can't meet everyone we'd like to know. We can't see all the places in the world, all of the paintings and sculpture, all of the animals, all of the beautiful plants and flowers that could enrich our lives. But, by the same token, we can't let the impossibility of finishing our education keep us from doing the best we can. We can't stop learning because we can't learn everything we'd like to know. We can't stop educating ourselves because our education will never finish. If we stop learning, stop educating ourselves, stop looking, reading, listening, we'll make our lives dull, uninteresting, we'll lose our self-respect, our ability to interest others, to deal with the world.

                                     It's not just because the world changes constantly that we need to continue to educate ourselves, but that's another good reason. As the world changes, as things and people we've counted on change and leave our lives, we won't be able to cope unless we continue to learn. When people say change equals opportunity, they assume we can keep up, can learn new things, take the opportunity to use our existing knowledge and experience and build on them. If we don't, we'll make ourselves useless and give up all the advantages of our age and experience.

                                     So as long as we live, we remain students. We should desire learning, we should enjoy learning. But whether we enjoy it or not, whether we learn willingly or resist learning, we must remain students to continue to function. And we must remain students to keep life interesting and worthwhile. If we don't continue to learn, we lose our ability to pass wisdom along. Think about it like this: As long as we're students, we will also be teachers. In that way, once again we help others and ourselves.

11-11-02

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