Lessons learned...
and forgotten
We learn so many important lessons throughout life, many of which are forgotten. Some disappear from our personal library of knowledge without a trace, and barely a memory of it; some lurk around, changing and modifying over time until the information is no longer exactly what it was when we learned it, but we believe we still know it all.
We have the chance to re-learn lessons, which is a good thing, because we too often forget much of which we should retain. It would be convenient to remember things like specialty knots for fishing, but, more than likely, it is not critical to be able to complete one with your eyes closed. It might be useful to remember the Pythagorean Theorem in a variety of real-life situations, but, again, A2 + B2 = C2 is not likely be key to a momentous decision in life.
There are things that we have learned, forgotten and could probably use some new lessons about.
Use our hands: Our hands can do much more than scrolling on smart phones. We can build with wood, sculpt with clay, grow in dirt, and comfort with touches.
Find the moments to play: Not all opportunities to play come with instructions or timed periods. That is a good thing. Take a few hopscotch moves on floor tiles (see the pattern, though unmarked with chalk?), hang from a tree branch, take a few swings on the empty seat of the swing set you’re walking past.
Be kind: Making simple gestures of thoughtfulness and kindness to any and all is good for the deliverer and the recipient: holding a door, delivering a smile, paying a compliment, giving an unexpected gift (like a flower from the garden), or spending a few extra minutes to listen.
Try something new: It seems the willingness to try something new, untrained for, or not naturally skilled at becomes less frequent as more candles appear on our birthday cake. Maybe the extra flames burn away the willingness to fail, to look the fool, to enjoy the apparent absurdity of giving something a shot.
We learn a lot in life, and we forget a lot that we have learned. It serves us well to re-learn some of the important lessons.