Today is Valentine’s Day, a day which is dedicated to love–new love, old love, potential love, lost love, and any of the myriad forms it takes under the sun. Whether or not you are participating in the tradition of reaching out to someone with a wish, flowers, or chocolate, I would like to propose a unique way for you to display your affection on this day: by rekindling your love for learning.
It’s time to break out of old patterns–to stoke the embers of your mind and ignite the unlimited possibilities of the world around you. To awaken the sense of wonder and amazement you had when you were a child, when everything seemed new, miraculous, and possible.
The power of the brain is inconceivable–with over 100 billion neurons, and with the ability to wire and rewire itself with every new experience. However, this power diminishes considerably when we allow our minds to become victims of mental sluggishness– when we permit the extraordinary to become ordinary, when we stop consciously creating our worlds and begin to wander mindlessly through our daily routines. When this happens, brain cells literally begin to die off. Researchers have finally validated the adage “Use it or lose it,” and can scientifically explain how failing to exercise our gray matter causes memories to weaken and positive outlooks to darken. It’s like the lights going off in the house. It’s like love dying.
There are often so many reasons you might stop yourself from trying to learn a new language, a musical instrument, painting, calligraphy, Yoga, or whatever unexplored adventure that is right now lying dormant in your heart. Too busy, too young, too old, too difficult, too tired, too late. But before you are shackled by these phantoms of sloth, I want you to recall the spirit of love–that wholly consuming desire that has surely engulfed you at one time or another. Kept you up at night, and dreaming throughout the day. Then realize you can re-experience this feeling–with only a small change in attitude. You need not scale walls, wage wars, nor surf and endless sea of shaadi.com profiles to become united in passion. Your paramour is waiting for you right now–hiding in a nearby corner of your mind.
So be bold! Become a “Laila of Learning” or a “Majnu of the Mind.” This Valentine’s Day, open your heart to exploring something new. Go ahead and give dance a chance, take a shot with photography, have a brief interlude with a piano, or give that canvas a stroke. Who knows, you just might spark a romance that could lead to a lifetime of love–a love for learning, that is!
Happy Valentine’s Day,
Steve
