Thoughts on life long learning

As I looked at the 7 1/2 habits of life long learning, I thought about what the process has been like for me, and I don't just mean the last two weeks. I come from an educated, artistic family, but as I was growing up, everytime my grandmother (who "helped" my mom raise us three kids) showed me how to do something she didn't give me permission to fail. If I didn't do it right the first time I attempted to do something new, she would take it away from me and do it herself, so that it would turn out right. I'm sure she thought she was doing me a favor, but what it taught me was that I was incompetent, that I couldn't do anything right. It also taught me to be afraid to try anything.

In my twenties I'm sure I was very frustrating to my boyfriend/husband, because I had so little confidence in my ability to do things, and was so reluctant to do something I had never done before. But he wasn't/isn't like my grandmother. He has always told me "You're an intelligent adult. You should be able to figure out how to do things.". At first I resented him for making me do things myself, instead of doing things for me, but as I tried things and they worked out, I became more comfortable with trying new things, and as I had more successes, I was more willing to try new things. I won't mention how long it has been since I met my husband, but it's been long enough that these days I'm seldom afraid of a challange. I have learned to embrace and enjoy them.

Never be afraid to try new things. I belong to a craft guild of individuals that work with polymer clay, and we have monthly meetings. At these meetings we have "show & tell", when members show pieces they have made, and talk about the process. Again and again people say "I was trying to achieve a particular goal, but failed, but you know what? I like what I came up with even better!". These "failures" are one of the ways the polymer clay community learns new techniques.

Another aspect of the guild is that we share with each other tools that we have discovered, and when you're working with polymer clay, ANYTHING is a potential tool. It really encourages us to be creative, and to be open minded.

Lastly, I'm so excited by polymer clay (and also by tie-dying) that I enjoy sharing that pleasure with others, so I occasionally hold workshops to introduce the skills I know to others. The attendees usually have fun, and I enjoy seeing what they create. We both win.