Love of Learning

 Part 9 of a 10-part series on the characteristics of happy people

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” 
– Mahatma Ghandi

I know most teachers do their best to promote a love of learning in their students, but I found that the Montessori method really encouraged my kids to explore what they were interested in. Whenever they started a new unit, my son would want to go to the library and get whatever extra books on the subject he could find. He’d also take a small notebook out to our backyard to observe and make notes. He started a classroom newspaper, encouraged by the teachers, detailing what flowers were blooming outside and which ones were fading (my husband and I referred to this, tongue-in-cheek, as “The Dead Flower Report”).

Something happens to us as adults, and it’s like we think that we’re done with learning just for the fun of it. We go to work, do our jobs, come home, do chores and fall into a stupor in front of the TV, until it’s time to go to bed. Then we wake up and do the same thing all over again. Most of us don’t think we have time to explore new interests, or, as I can attest to, our brains just feel too tired and full sometimes.

But can you remember what it felt like to be really interested in something? To forget that time was passing, and to just want to know more?

When was the last time you heard yourself say, “Hey, I learned something interesting today….”

Continuing to learn keeps our brains active and healthy, our minds engaged and our spirits up.

Of course, I know you don’t have time right now to take another class. Maybe you have no interest in going back to school at all. But there has to be some subject that catches your interest.

Many of the happiest retirees are the ones who use their new freedom to learn new things, whether it’s a new skill like painting, or a language.

Sometime, maybe when you’re waiting in line, instead of pulling out your phone to check your e-mail, let your mind wander….if time and money were no object, what would you like to learn more about? Politics, culture, art? Science?

Make a list for yourself. You may not have time to go pursue a degree in these subjects right now, but you could find some interesting websites that have more information. You could probably find a book at the library on one of them. Or listen to a podcast.

It will not only make you more interested, it will also make you more interesting.