The “Regret”
All learning fills a void that ignorance once occupied. Perhaps a less off-putting word may be “unknowing,” but we must accept the truth.
When you have a little length in the tooth and learn something you “should” have learned sooner, you tend to feel bad that you remained ignorant for so long (frequently followed by a chuckle). Usually, you are in abundant company. The salt-and-pepper-haired crowd often says, “All I have learned since turning 50 is how much I don’t know.”
Do not despair; delinquent awareness is superior to perpetual ignorance. The instruction received is worth the price of a bruised ego – about the same thrill that comes with finding $20 in your pants pocket.
I am not talking about the Bruce Springsteen Blinded by the Light song lyrics you misinterpreted, “Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night” (not “Wrapped up like a douche, another rumor in the night”).
Nor am I exclusively speaking of the wisdom we believe comes only with age. Old timers are fond of telling youngsters lessons gained over a lifetime – family is more important than work; we care too much about what others think, etc.
The Opportunity
Some things, like a 40-year friendship, can only be appreciated after forty years. There is also wisdom that can only come through experience, the polite name we give our mistakes according to Oscar Wilde.
If you cannot acquire some lessons absent the passage of time and experience, why do I mention them to my younger readers? To make you aware there will be a day when you will come to different understandings and with the hope you will come to them earlier than I did.
I have a couple of warnings for my wet-behind-the-ears readers possessing the hubris of youth (which I jealously can no longer claim) who are rolling their eyes at my old man message.
Your current “understanding” can be a stumbling block to your education. “It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows,” Epictetus, the Stoic.
Your elders’ experience should serve as a cautionary tale. Acquiring essential life lessons over many years was mostly by default; we simply failed to invest the effort earlier.
Finally, I regard your eye-rolling in the same manner you regard your petulant children’s disinterest in your lovingly dispensed advice. And the cycle continues, on and on.
What to Do?
Extend your desire for personal growth with a curiosity for knowledge; be inquisitive about something. Like your hands, an idle mind is a tool of the devil.
Do not be overly concerned about practicality, as instruction in one area inevitably finds application elsewhere. Playing the guitar improves your grammar, goal-setting, and thirty other things. Studying World War II enhances your insight into geography, current foreign policy, and cattle feeding.
Likewise, do not burden learning by assigning it some monumental objective like obtaining a Ph.D. or writing a novel in a foreign language. You will most likely undertake education if it is accessible and compatible with your natural inclination. It may be playing the guitar or reading World War II texts, even if you never play in a band or teach a history course.
We can draw upon five-time Tour de France cycling champion Eddy Merckx’s simple words, “Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” Whatever you want, however you want, just learn.
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There is a bottomless treasure trove of enlightenment not buried in a mine but lying in the open and ready for the taking. Rather than disappointment with your past ignorance, treat each new lesson as a gift and be inspired to seek more. Rather than being frustrated that you will never grasp it all, be invigorated that you will never be at a loss for lessons to acquire.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had the same desire for knowledge as our never-enough attitude toward money and Facebook likes? What might we understand and accomplish, and what impact might we make?