Always Walk Through Life As iF You Have Something To Learn

One would guess as one ages that the curiosity that drives the desire to learn would evaporate,

but what I’ve found is that age doesn’t diminish the need to learn, to discover, and to better

understand all that is puzzling and mystifying. If anything, age has taught me how little I know

about much of anything. I suppose age has a way of humbling even the most, strident, know-it-

alls, including me. This realization that I know absolute sh*te about anything has lit a bigger

flame under my ass to LEARN as much as I can about all that I find interesting. So, it’s not

surprising I’m still poring over dance classes I’d like to try, new or better French classes (a

constant theme of my life), online classes on history, embroidery classes (a new obsession and

one fueled by too many Jane Austen novels), theology classes, so on, so on, and so on.

Watching my parents age, two people who had been active and golfing till just a few years ago,

the inescapable reality is how small our physical world will become, no matter how much vigor

we may try to maintain. What, hopefully for most of us, can’t be whittled down is the expansion

of our minds, imagination, and desires. My dad, who had been diagnosed with dementia in his

90’s, shows no real sign of wanting to let go of that part of his brain where learning takes place.

Even if he can’t remember what he had for lunch, he still watches Japanese TV to keep up his

Japanese language skills he was forced to learn as a child when the Japanese took over Korea.

In spite of the understandable resentment about anything Japanese, my father continued to

learn the language, achieving fluency at a University level. These days he watches and exercise

to a Japanese kids’ show. As strange as that may sound, what can’t be disputed is his desire to

be reminded of that spark of joy and excitement of learning that took place so many decades

ago.

My mom’s learning seems to take place via YouTube, which is another discussion entirely. As I

watch my parents deal with the inherent sadness and cruelty of aging, I hold their continued

desire for learning as a model for me, so that it won’t be all that surprising for my son to find

me watching French childrens’ shows…even if I may not know whether I’m in Paris or

elsewhere.