L is for Learning

LEARNING

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but it isn't true. Smart dogs know they have to keep learning tricks their whole lives if they want to stay competitive in the pack. 

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

-Mahatma Gandhi

Scientific research supports brain stimulation as a way to keep healthy as we age. So we should keep learning our entire lives. The good news? Now, more than ever, it is entirely possibly. We are in the midst of a an educational revolution. While universities and colleges continue to charge astronomical fees for their degrees, in recent years an explosion of free  online opportunities means that people only need a computer and an internet connection to access the most brilliant minds in the world, as well as many diverse writing communities and groups. 

www.coursera.org
www.edx.org
free-online-classes

"I am still learning." -Michelangelo, at age 87

And while I'm on the letter L? 
Let's give a shout-out to those bastions of learning--LIBRARIES!

Please visit them on a regular basis, if you aren't already doing so. Take out hard books. Request books be purchased for your branch. For some people, this is the only way that they can afford their reading habit.
I'm all for digital media and e-readers, but there is a special place in my heart for libraries. It saddens me to think of children growing up one day without owning actual books of their own, or knowing what it feels like to read with a book on one's lap. The smell and texture of the paper, the aesthetic pleasure received from reading a real book simply can't be matched by an e-reader or computer.

Did you know that at many libraries you can visit their websites and request books to be held for you? If the book is already checked out, you'll get put on a waiting list, and alerted when it is ready for pick up. Then all you have to do is ask for it at the circulation desk.

Libraries are great places to learn things. The buildings themselves are often works of art, especially the large city libraries. I'm looking at you, New York Public Library & Boston Public Library. And of course, the Hawaii State Library. So beautiful. 

There is something about browsing a stack of books, the serendipity of discovering something that you didn't even know you were looking for. And then, of course, there are reference librarians. These positions might soon be a thing of the past, so check them out (to use a bad library pun) while you still have access to them.

You know, just so later, you can say that you were one of the last to do so.

“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.”-Zig Ziglar

“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can, there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”

-Sarah Caldwell

“The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,

And all the sweet serenity of books” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” 
-Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!