“The beautiful and good person neither fights with anyone else nor, as much as they are able, permits others to fight. This is the meaning of getting an education – learning what is in your own affair and what is not. If a person carries themselves so, where is there any room for fighting?” Epictetus, Discourses.
Learning effectively requires us to look and listen. Moreover, it demands that we are open to new experiences, to be receptive to perspectives and points of view that will be different to our own expectations, and to accept that these differences exist (whether we agree with them or not). How can we truly learn if the full picture is restricted by narrow sight and the colours distorted by tinted lenses? How can we hear properly when our own inner voice is incessantly chattering in the background, uttering “told you so!” and “yeah, but…”? Look, listen, learn and accept what is now.
