On Learning

For the month of September, I am using prompts from a project called 30 Days Hath September. Each day has a prompt for something to capture, something to collect, and something to record. The prompts are for a scrapbook album, but I thought they'd be wonderful blogging prompts as well. I am selecting one of the three prompts to write about each day. 

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September 12: Something you're learning

My favorite books end up looking like this

when I'm done with them

I told you these were good prompts, didn't I? I'm digging them, and I look forward to them each day (I skipped Sunday because I posted about something else and didn't ever find time to come back and do my prompt, but it's a really good one, so I definitely want to go back to it later). 

I really enjoy learning. In fact, love of learning is my top character strength in the VIA Survey of Character Strengths (if you've never taken this survey before, I recommend it. It's fun, and it's used for actual research in positive psychology. Go take it, and then you can email me your top 5 (and your low five, if you wish). A word, though: your lowest character strengths don't mean you lack those strengths  - it just means you have 23 areas where you are stronger). 

fluentbrittish@gmail.com

(I'd also love you to email me your pictures of Christ, if you feel like sharing. My best cousin-in-law (BCIL - it's a thing) Cyndi sent me hers, and I loved her explanations of why she chose those particular images).

A few months ago I attended an event where we filled out a little questionnaire, and one of the questions was, "Have you learned a new skill in the last month?" This question gave me pause because I couldn't think of a single new skill I'd learned. It put me in a bit of a panic, so I started asking my friends if they've learned any new skills lately, and they all drew blanks, too. I threw myself on the ground and wailed at the sky, "WE HAVE PEAKED!!! WE ARE USELESS!!" and then I left the event, went to McDonald's, and ate three cheeseburgers and drank a large Dr. Pepper. 

Okay, not really, but I was a little sad that I couldn't think of any new skills I'd learned that month, and neither could anyone else. Really, I think we just weren't in the mindset to come up with something right in that moment, and we were all put on the spot. If we'd had more time to think, I'm sure we all would have come up with an answer. 

Being asked that question made me more aware of what I've learned and what skills I've acquired since then. In the past couple of months, I've learned how to cut a stencil, how to use a caulk gun, how to tell if a winter squash is ready to harvest, how to load a staple gun, and how to make a play list on Spotify. 

I have not peaked! I can still do skillz! 

Aside from learning new skills, I enjoy studying topics. Sometimes I get interested in subjects like Lou Gehrig's disease, the history of women and mental asylums, or midwifery among the Amish. Other times I spend three weeks learning everything I can about Donny Osmond, Michael J. Fox, or The Wiggles. 

In my gospel study, I love when I find a pattern emerging in what I'm learning. It's not always intentional on my part, but I often end up discovering a common topic woven throughout everything I read or listen to for a time. I believe this is one way God teaches me as an individual. 

I love learning new words - but not just "new" words, I love gaining a better understanding of words I already know. Just last week I looked up the word affectation. I was reading the conference talk by Bishop Causse from April, and in it he stated that if Christ came to visit us, his attitude would be without affectation. I read it as "affection" and knew that couldn't be correct, so I did a double take and saw that it was "affectation." I thought, "Oooooo! Affectation. What is that?" 

I had to know!

So I looked it up and found that affectation is a form of behavior that is not genuine and is meant to impress others. And I delighted, not because this type of behavior exists, but because there is a word for it! I know "affectation" because I've seen it AND I've done it! And now I have the word!

(It's possible that the rest of the world has known and used this word for my entire life, and I'm just now learning it at the age of 34). 

In reality, I'm all over the place in my learning, and that's okay. I feel like learning comes to me a day at a time, and when I need to approach a new form of learning or a new topic, it just works out. The most important thing is that I never stop. 

(But if I do, you might find me at McDonald's with that pile of cheeseburgers). 

(But then again, maybe I'm just doing "cheeseburger research." So don't jump to any conclusions).