Scheme of Things
Today's Fountain of Youth
By Nan S. Russell
Apr 1, 2009 - 4:19:06 PM

A hundred years ago, the woman my granddaughter was named after was a young girl. The average wage-earner was paid twenty-two cents an hour, few homes had bathtubs, and ninety-four percent of Americans didn't finish high school; not to mention the social inequities, medical perspectives, and travel limitations of those times.

Our granddaughter's great-great grandmother would be astounded with the changes, and amazed by the technology her name-sake at age two uses: watching those "toons" on an HD wide-screen television; seeing and talking to "her Nana" (that's me) on the "pewter;" or "ringing" Granddad via a picture on her Daddy's iPhone.

Life is anything but static for her. She's constantly learning and trying new things. Of course, that's what two year olds do. But I was recently reminded we should all be more like my granddaughter when I met a man, a decade younger than myself, in the green room of a TV studio while I was waiting to be interviewed about my book.

"What's that?" he asked while I checked email. Thinking he was asking what kind of smart phone I had, I answered, "Oh, a BlackBerry." "I've never seen one," he said. "I'm a paper and pencil kind of guy." He held my BlackBerry while commenting he couldn't imagine needing such a device since he rarely sent emails or used a cell phone or surfed the web. In that case, maybe paper and pencil is all he needs.

But on reflection, I couldn't help considering what I'd be missing if I didn't use the internet or email or a cell phone. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not an early adopter with the latest technology, the newest social networking approach, or the most efficient gadgets. But I am a mid-range adopter who finds change exhilarating and challenging all at the same time. What I've discovered for me, is that learning is how I keep my personal crystal ball bright. Learning is the process by which I can evolve myself and my future.

You see, when I'm learning that's when I'm most idea prone; that's when I notice new opportunities; that's when I expand my dreams. When I'm exposed to alternative ways of doing things, or perspectives I haven't encountered, or new applications I didn't even know existed, it feels like a spa for my brain. Learning refreshes my understanding, expands my comfort zone, and offers me new-fashioned paths to consider. Learning keeps us connected to the speed of life.

Clinging to what we know, holding to what we've done, grasping yesterday's tools may be easier, but easier won't build our future or contribute to a collective one. Like a mirage in a desert with no life-sustaining water, there's no payoff staying where I am or stagnating in yesterday's know-how. It seems to me, in the scheme of things, learning and learning how to be learning is the only fountain of youth we have. Dive deeply.

(c) 2009 Nan S. Russell.  All Rights Reserved.Nan S. Russell is the author of "Hitting Your Stride: Your Work, Your Way." More about Nan and her work can be found at www.nanrussell.com. Author of "Hitting Your Stride: Your Work, Your Way" (Capital Books; January 2008) Sign up to receive Nan's free monthly eColumn at: www.intheschemeofthings.com.