The Next Step

Last week my husband and I stopped into Schuler's books to find a gift for a friend. As I stopped and stared (and sniffed!) the beautiful candles, lotions and other fancies, I noticed that my husband had left me. After searching the different sections of books that I thought I might find him in, he was nowhere to be found. Outdoor section? Nope. History? Nope. Finally! Sitting in a fat leather chair, surrounded by "How To" books was my husband. He was sifting through the pages of a book on how to build a wood strip canoe. When I glanced at him nervously (thinking about the trip to Home Depot we'd probably be making to buy supplies for this endeavor) he looked up and said "What? I just wanted to know!"

When was the last time you "just wanted to know" something? Did you find the answer? I couldn't even count the number of times in my day a question pops into my head, I think about it, and then I never seek out the answer. During our school career, asking a question and finding the answer can be as simple as raising our hands. (I think that my hand was raised more often than not in algebra class!) But our knowledge post formal education is completely up to us. It depends on our own innate desire to want to know the answers to the questions we raise. And here in lies the problem: taking the next step.

To me, this seems like one of the keys to becoming a lifelong learner…taking that next step. Often times we let what we're doing overrule what we want to know. But those dedicated to keeping themselves growing and learning know that the question is not the last step – the quest to find the answer is. This can be a scary thing if it involves putting yourself "out of your element", but the risk is always well worth it. Each one of us has thousands of resources surrounding us, but not many of us realize it until we seek them out. These resources can be as simple as talking to your neighbor, or as complex as signing up for a college class - but the truth is, we all have the capability to answer our own questions.

So what is it you want to know? How about how long it takes to walk from your house to the grocery store? Or how to help the Nashville flood victims? Or even how to grow a garden in a bale of straw? All of these questions have answers….you just have to find them.