Lifelong Learning

  I remember when I was 10 years old, I picked up a book--at K-Mart, of all places--called The Lifelong Learner. I don't know if this book still exists anymore or whether or not it's still in print. In fact, I don't even remember who the author was. But I bought that book anyway, and I think the reason I did was that I simply love the concept of "lifelong" learning. Even though I wasn't aware of it at the time and didn't have the words to say it, I think what struck me was the spiritual aspect of 'lifelong' learning. It's essentially a learning that has no limits and no credentials: something that isn't demarcated by earned status, or number of years spent in a certain field, or number of credits. It isn't conferred upon a person by a degree either. In a sense, it is the kind of learning that goes beyond the sense of being given a status.
   The reason, I think, that lifelong learning is not as popular as it could be is that people tend to think there is only one life, and one's merits are limited to what they do and complete in this life. But what if the things one does are never completed? Would life lose its meaning if that were the case? I have found that even when I cannot finish a particular degree or diploma, I am still able to enjoy the courses themselves and find some value in the process of learning. But in order to do that, I have to stop believing that there are ever completions. Instead, I need to believe that life is cyclic, and the value of one's purposes lies more in the intention and vows than in the process of completing something.
   This doesn't mean that people should not strive to complete anything. Rather, I think it means that one should not be attached to this notion of completion/non-completion. Sometimes we complete things that are not fulfilling at all, or we may not complete something that is deeply fulfilling. Which one of these two has the most value?
    When I stop valuing learning for its ends and start valuing learning for its own sake, then I don't worry if I don't finish what I set out to do. The learning itself has value, and other things will naturally take care of themselves in the process of learning.