“Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die.”- Tom Clancy

I consider myself constantly evolving and changing as the world changes. I question everything. I question even the things that I believe because I know that they are merely facts that I tell myself to make the world make sense to me. I can explain to someone else what I believe, but I can never say that my belief is right and theirs is wrong. We are all right, because perception is reality.

In this time of technology, I feel like I am learning something new every single day. I am a researcher and a reader so I am constantly looking for and finding new ways to learn and stretch myself. The internet is a playground to me and I approach it with a sense of wonder. There is so much information that I can find an answer or a way to do almost anything. I can’t imagine never not being able to find a way to do something and I approach life that way. I will admit that I have been hesitant to try new things. I used to say, “I don’t need a new…” When the technology began to change, I didn’t want a: smart phone, an mp3 player, or electronic books. Each time, I gave in and I fell in love with the new item as it made my life so much easier. I have learned not to be resistant. I will try to keep trying to see if it can change my view of  my world. When you find a new way to look at the things you look at all the time, you change your world. It can be your job, your family, your relationships or even yourself.

A thought came to me, imagine if we all decided as toddlers that we had learned all that we needed to learn about the world. What if walking was enough and we all decided there is nothing left to learn about the world? Children have a sense of wonder and awe about the world. They explore it without the cynicism because they are in a state of love. Everything is new and it’s not tainted with disappointment and expectation. It’s a simple understanding of the world that doesn’t place a story on why things don’t work because a child doesn’t know that it didn’t work until someone tells him. It seems silly to think that someone would stop learning about the world at the age of two, but it’s also silly to think that you know everything you need to know at the age of twenty-two or thirty-two.

It’s a lot harder to change your perception and to develop a sense of wonder of the world because your thoughts are based on dogma, ideology and personal stories that you’ve created. I said, harder but not impossible. The way that you bring the wonder back into the world is to question, unlearn and write a new story. If you can stop telling yourself, “I don’t need” and replace it with “I will try”. The world can shift into a place that offers so many opportunities to have childlike wonder about things around you.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.” 
― Albert Einstein

What can you try today? Can you marvel at something that you see on a regular basis? Can you see it with a sense of wonder?