Learn to ‘Learn from Everything’
May 6th, 2008 by spaceagesage
“Learning from Everything” is the fifth in a series where I take a deeper look at seven tools for transformation presented by authors Don Riso and Russ Hudson in their book The Wisdom of the Enneagram. In previous posts, I wrote about the tools called Seeking Truth, Not Doing, Willing to Be Open, and Getting Proper Support.
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Learn from the moments you want to run from
According to Riso and Hudson, when we are moving through change and transition, we may find ourselves enduring a “present moment:”
… whatever is occurring in the present moment is what we need to deal with right now. And whatever is arising in our hearts or minds is the raw material that we can use for our growth. It is an extremely common tendency to flee what we are actually facing into our imagination, romanticizing, or dramatizing our situation, justifying ourselves, or even escaping into “spirituality.”
Today I wanted to run from a relationship issue that has been avoided by both parties for years. I knew the conversation I needed to have with some family members was both a huge hurdle and test of my maturity. (Don’t ya just love those tests?) I kept saying to myself, “Act your age, SpaceAgeSage.” I could have run away, stayed defensive, or imagined myself to be “right one,” but it was time to deal. Thankfully it all turned out better than I expected. If I had not handled it today, it may have never been resolved.
Learn from insightful flashes, no matter where they come from
My husband and I have been amazed at moments of clarity that come from the strangest places. The moments can come from movies like The Matrix or Star Trek shows; from watching two people fight at a restaurant, or from care taking my mom, who has memory losses from stroke and Alzheimer’s. These flashes of insight are common enough occurrences that we now anticipate wisdom and insight coming from anywhere, even if it comes from adversity, angry people, or my own goof ups. You can think of it as letting life speak in whatever language it wants. Sometimes you just have to be the fly on the wall, taking in everything.
Learn from the pattern set by mentors, heroes, and strong-hearted people
Whenever I begin a journey, I am eager to see the sights along the way. I do not approach it like a victim. The journey of change is the same. If I think I am destined to fail, I probably won’t get too far along the path of personal growth. If I think I have too much baggage or I am too old, too young, too weak, too dumb, too stuck, to broken, too scared, too poor, too whatever, then I am likely to see my limitations as larger than my willingness to change. Looking at others who have gone ahead of us to success in these areas helps us keep to our goals. I look to those who persevered despite adversity, people like Albert Einstein who didn’t speak until he was 4, did not read until he was 7, and who one teacher called “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams.” He was a bit of a late bloomer, but our world changed when he did bloom.
POCKET-THOUGHT:
It is hard to learn when you have the urge to run, to fight, or to just forget it about it all. Change requires a bolder, more resilient, and less fragile heart. Yes, you do have it in you!
As you make changes in your life, what can other things can you learn from that will help you grow?