You Are Never Too Old to Learn Something New
There was a time when I knew EVERYTHING!
I was 19 years young at the time and I was sure that I had seen, experienced, or at least mentally conquered everything this side of heaven. No mind that I had yet to be married, had no children, and still lived in the same county I was born in. As my sister tells it, I used to walk around saying, “I’m Melissa the great!” Can you even imagine?! Bless my heart; Given the chance, I would go back a few decades and take my younger self into the alley to teach her a lesson on humility!
But life has its own way of humbling us. Over the years I have loved, lost, and learned a lot! Though I despise a classroom setting, I am an avid reader and I have never met a stranger. People are fascinating! I want to know what makes people laugh, cry, keep putting one foot in front of the other. Every person we come in contact with has a lesson to teach us; IF we are willing to humble ourselves long enough to listen.
“ Every person we come in contact with has a lesson to teach us; IF we are willing to humble ourselves long enough to listen. ~ Melissa Bell”
The ramblings of a preschooler remind us to slow down a bit, while the struggle of an alcoholic teaches us resilience and perseverance. Have you ever wondered how a homeless person became just that? If you took the time to talk with them, you may be surprised by their answer. Perhaps that’s why we are so intrigued by reality TV and social media. It’s a glimpse into the unknown. If we each lived to be 1000 years old, we still couldn’t experience all of the things this world has to offer.
I want to encourage you to not shy away from the unknown, lean in and learn something new. Read autobiographies, they may just change the way you view history. Don’t avoid a conversation with someone because their skin is a different color, they have an accent or worship differently than you; that is the closest you will ever get to experiencing the life they have lived. The elderly are like interactive history books and the young guns are equivalent to research documents. Most importantly, don’t show up with an agenda, none of us has all of the answers and we could all stand to learn a thing or two from one another. And remember…LOVE is a universal language.
“I have learned that I still have a lot to learn. - Maya Angelou”