Legend has it that Michelangelo’s last words were “Ancora Imparo,” or “I am still learning.” He uttered them at the age of eighty-seven. Here was a guy that considered himself a sculpture, but painted the Sistine Chapel. He had an amazing amount of talent. Yet he knew in order to stay vital we need to realize that we are still learning.
Whether we like it or not, at every stage of our lives, we are still learning. Our education may be passive or active. We may learn bad habits, what we can get away with and how people disappoint us. Or we may learn new possibilities, solutions to challenges, and a new skill we didn’t know we were capable of.
Active learning involves seeking knowledge. Passive learning is merely observing and reacting to life’s challenges. It is no different than a simple organism reacting to a stimuli. While it is good we learn not to touch a hot stove, if that is all we learn, it leaves a big gap in our education.
Passive learning can make us cynical, bitter, and fearful. When things just happen to us, without active learning, we can be convinced to give up. We just react. And we don’t take any steps to fix the problem or find a new, better way.
But when we take an active interest in our studies, it opens up many possibilities. Disappointments and disasters may come, but we know there is a solution if we keep looking. It reminds me of a proverb.
“Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.”
Proverbs 10:14 (KJV)
Active learning helps us find knowledge. And even better, it leads to positive change. We may think our education is over after we graduate from school. But in reality, we continually learn new things. The question is, do we let life and the school of hard knocks educate us, or do we take an active interest in our lifelong education? After all, we are still learning!
