As an adult learner, I find myself wanting to know it all from the very start of the course that I’ve embarked on. I would also quickly assess and judge the person leading the course. I would be working out a cost analysis on my investment versus my understanding of what I’m learning. I always thought that my understanding and my learning were solely dependent on external factors, i.e., those who are delivering the course.
It was a light-bulb moment when I was undergoing the self-learning part of the Master Certified Coach (MCC) program while also training for my full marathon. I discovered that different people have different learning styles and that the lessons learned are specific to an individual. Preparing for MCC and the marathon was truly a self-discovery for me. It illuminated to me things that I need to shed off and embrace things that I was not familiar with or not willing to. Above all, I learned to stay present with what I was experiencing at that moment and not rush through the learning process. With that discovery and insights, I gained better clarity on what my next steps should be to get to where I want to be.
I was reminded of the importance of our attitude toward learning as I read a chapter from ‘Journey to the Heart by Melody Beattie at the end of a meditation session I led last Sunday. The title of the chapter was “Let the Lesson Reveal Itself to You.”
“What’s the next lesson?”, I asked.
“If you knew what it was, you wouldn’t need to learn it,” he said.
Often, in the midst of a lesson or experience, we tighten our minds into knots trying to figure out what we’re learning, what’s coming next, and what the lesson is really about. But if we knew what the lesson was about, we wouldn’t need to be learning it.
The learning we’re doing on our spiritual path is often not possible from our heads or books. It’s a process of discovery; it includes many twists, turns, surprises, and upsets, much confusion, wondering and stumbling until we reach a moment of clarity. And usually, we learn best when we’re a bit vulnerable and uncertain about what we are learning.
Trust that the lesson will reveal itself to you when it’s time. Stay present for this moment. Let your experience and guidance unfold. You’re evolving and learning and growing right now. When the transformation is complete, you’ll see what you’ve learned,
“Other people may be there to help us, teach us, and guide us along our path. But the lesson to be learned is always ours.”
Does this strike a chord with you? Wherever you are in your life right now, I invite you to continue navigating your journey, knowing that what’s important to remember and to learn will eventually come to you. The lesson will reveal itself to you!
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