Learning and Unlearning

Life would be so much easier if we all just moved in a straight line. How great would it be if we simply moved from point A to point B and, then, perhaps after a lunch break, moved onto point C before calling it a day. And then the next day we repeated this steady pattern taking some time, occasionally, to give thanks to the orderliness of it all. Unfortunately, that is not how life works. Particularly as we get older, we become all too aware of the uncompromising reality that life contains lots of trial and error, stops and starts, road blocks, stumbling blocks, reverses, steps forward, standing still, back tracking, do-overs, unexpected opportunities - golden and not-so-golden - and temptations. Just when we think we have all the facts, know where we are heading, or feel secure in our decisions, life drops an unexpected twist or turn in front of us that gives us pause, raises doubt and reminds us we do not know as much as we think.

After spending time in the Soviet Union back in the early days of the twentieth century and then returning to the United States, the famous muckraking journalist Lincoln Steffens talked of the unexpected challenge he faced of having to unlearn all that he had learned while living abroad. Life back in the U.S., he found, was different than what he had been experiencing. All of us, I believe, face this kind of challenge even if it is not triggered by something as dramatic as having lived in a foreign country. Each day we are confronted with new information, new perspectives, and new variations from what we consider to be the routine of our lives. Consequently, we are forced to take what we have learned and, if not literally caste it aside, then gather new information so that we, too, can give ourselves more tools that better enable us to cope with, understand or, at times, handle the challenges before us.

This constant learning and unlearning requires two things: an acceptance that this ongoing change is the very essence of life and the communication skills needed to navigate it must include an openness of mind and the willingness to continue building on what we feel we already know. Successful communication is only possible when openly embraced. Once this occurs, then the need to listen, devise strategies to communicate information and knowledge to others, and maintain connections become less imposing. Collectively, they will even help us move from point A to point B even it is not in a straight line or without a few side trips along the way.