What I learned today vs. What more is there to learn?

“I can’t believe she is leaving,” he said.

“I guess it is about time,” I replied. “She has been looking forward to new opportunities to learn and grow," I added, as an afterthought.

“Don’t we all?” one of the guys who sat across the table chimed in. Indeed, don’t we all?

We commonly relate to learning as the accumulation of knowledge, i.e. do I know more today than yesterday? More importantly though, what we learn through our day to day interactions and experience shape not only our worldview but also our character.

Come to think about it, opportunity to learn is more than just a matter of ‘a change of scenery’ (or a change of job), it is in the little things we face on a daily basis, depending on how we perceive and derive meanings out of our experiences. It could be the conversations we had, or the pages we have read from a book.

The more we learn, the more we realise we do not know as much as we think we do. Our worldview is often shaped and limited by our life experiences and approach to life. The reality is, while we have come to better understand the world, many more are still undiscovered. Even in the realm of the known (generally accepted knowledge), it is unlikely that we can ever fully learn and understand every aspect of life in one lifetime. The thought of it can be disheartening.

It is for this reason (also as a note to self) I believe we should treasure our many chance encounters or what we may call ‘new discoveries’. To stay curious, and reflect on ‘what have I learned today’ than ‘what more is there to learn?’