I.
Sometimes I forget how much I don't know.
I wrap my certainty around me like a cloak, and my eyes cool to jaded shields that prevent anything new from entering my mind.
"I've seen one of those before." "I've heard that a hundred times." "Yeah, simple, whatever."
Ha! What arrogance!
I have certainly never learned anything when I've closed myself off from the possibility of learning.
And ANYTHING can be a teacher.
When I remember to see things through new eyes, when I remember to listen more deeply, when I remember to wonder at everything like a child who is too busy exploring to care about "looking cool" or "acting mature"...
That's when it happens!
Ten thousand unseen hands hold up the details of the world for my inspection.
Ten thousand silent voices whisper mysteries and metaphors into my eager ears.
Ordinary objects become rich with meaning.
Everyday chores are touched with grace.
Knowledge and wisdom pour into me...
because I am open.
Apathy is a blindfold, cynicism a locked door, arrogance a stone wall. They shut me away from learning, growth, and wisdom.
Enthusiasm, respect, openness: these anoint me as an apprentice to the world.
And when I find myself closing those doors, building those walls?
I choose to open again.
I notice how my lungs open to fresh air.
I feel my heart opening like a flower.
I imagine wings unfurling from my back, to catch the wind of wonder beneath them, to bask in the sunlight of grace radiant above them.
I remind myself of how much I still don't know.
And I eagerly seek the next lesson!
I wrap my certainty around me like a cloak, and my eyes cool to jaded shields that prevent anything new from entering my mind.
"I've seen one of those before." "I've heard that a hundred times." "Yeah, simple, whatever."
Ha! What arrogance!
I have certainly never learned anything when I've closed myself off from the possibility of learning.
And ANYTHING can be a teacher.
When I remember to see things through new eyes, when I remember to listen more deeply, when I remember to wonder at everything like a child who is too busy exploring to care about "looking cool" or "acting mature"...
That's when it happens!
Ten thousand unseen hands hold up the details of the world for my inspection.
Ten thousand silent voices whisper mysteries and metaphors into my eager ears.
Ordinary objects become rich with meaning.
Everyday chores are touched with grace.
Knowledge and wisdom pour into me...
because I am open.
Apathy is a blindfold, cynicism a locked door, arrogance a stone wall. They shut me away from learning, growth, and wisdom.
Enthusiasm, respect, openness: these anoint me as an apprentice to the world.
And when I find myself closing those doors, building those walls?
I choose to open again.
I notice how my lungs open to fresh air.
I feel my heart opening like a flower.
I imagine wings unfurling from my back, to catch the wind of wonder beneath them, to bask in the sunlight of grace radiant above them.
I remind myself of how much I still don't know.
And I eagerly seek the next lesson!