And I’m looking at my resume—probably five pages long, maybe even more—filled with everything I’ve done, learned, and experienced in my life.
“Wow,” I think, “what a force of nature!!! Who is this mega-woman who’s managed to accomplish so much in so many different areas?”
But then I remembered a conversation I had with another mega-woman I met at the Esalen Institute. We struck up a conversation in the dining hall. Her name was Sylvia. She was the roommate of a close friend of mine. So this woman—a massage therapist—had come to attend a massage training seminar. She works at a hospital, helping cancer patients. She turned 79 at Esalen!!!! We all sang “Happy Birthday” to her.
And so we talked and talked, and then I suddenly realized that, unnoticed, another of my illusions about education had melted away—the idea that it’s a one-time thing that lasts forever, and that once you’ve learned something, that’s it—you can live off of it for the rest of your life.
For some reason, I suddenly felt such intense disappointment that it even gave me a tight knot in my stomach.
So I asked her, “So what, even at 79, after being a massage therapist for 20 years, I still have to keep learning?????
And she laughed so loudly and cheerfully.........
Of course!!!