The Spirit of Learning

Lately I have been reflecting on where I got my yearning for learning. I can't seem to stop soaking up knowledge in certain areas of my life: faith, blogging, photography and self-improvement. There is so much information on the Internet, and I would guess you could gain more than a novice level of skills in nearly any hobby that fancies your interest. There are two phrases that come to mind when I think about the idea of continued learning:

"Knowledge is power."

and

"You can do anything you put your mind to."

 

For some reason the first phrase didn't really sink in when I was watching School House Rock growing up. But I get it now. Knowlegde gives us the power to dream big and take the nessasary steps to get closer to those dreams. And I truely believe that if I spend time learning about something that I am passionate about, I can do anything. Ask Kels, I tell her all the time that I could be an Olympic ski jumper if I wanted to be...but somewhere along the line I missed my calling...

I think the No. 1 excuse people have about not following their dreams or having a hobby they really enjoy is "I don't have any time." Is that really the case? Or is it that you spend too much time doing other things? How much TV do you watch a day? Video games? Although it's nessasary to have some downtime once in awhile, our lives can get consumed with these time-suckers and keep us from doing something greater.

I was telling a friend the other day that a couple years ago, when I knew I had a free hour, I would plan out in my mind that I had just enough time to play one game of NCAA football on my Xbox. I would be so excited that I could play and build my dynasty to a national powerhouse. Looking back, this was the biggest waste of time, and looking at what's really important in life, a fictional football dynasty doesn't even come close to making the list.

What does make the list is community. I'm so glad that we started this blog and have made the connections we have with all of our readers. Now when I have a free hour, I usually spend it blogging. Sure, I still watch TV sometimes and enjoy life, but I don't let the things that don't matter steal my time. In fact, I created more time for the things I love. I get up an hour earlier than necessary every day to work on this blog. It's my selfish time before Kels gets up to get the things done that I want to. Then we have time to spend together in the evenings.

So keep learning, keep dreaming, read a book, dig deep to find that one thing that you have wanted to do but keep putting off. Research that subject and learn from those who have been through the struggles of starting that hobby. Seek the knowledge required to do something greater with your time.

Do what you can to keep that spirit of learning alive.

What hobbies do you have or want to start?