In
order to grow you have to learn, and in order to learn you have to
make mistakes..... I'm sorry but that is just the harsh reality of
life. Own it, fix it, learn from it. That is my motto. (Kim
Stroemich).
Why
do some people never learn? Are you a slow learner? Is there some
growing edge in your life that you refuse to attend to? A warning you
refuse to heed? A conflict you refuse to resolve, Why? (Serendipity
Bible 10th anniversary edition, page 1090-91).
I
know there is nothing good in my sinful nature. I want to do what is
good, but I can’t. I don’t do the good things I want to do. I
keep on doing the evil things I don’t want to do. I do what I don’t
want to do.....So in my mind I am a slave to God’s law. But in my
sinful nature I am a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 18-20, 25).
It
is a common observation that people can learn intellectually without
applying that learning to life. Many years ago in undergraduate
school I took a course in physical education. There I learned the
vital importance of faithful exercise. But, throughout the years,
have I applied that knowledge faithfully? Afraid not! To this I add
the example of my knowledge of good nutrition compared to my exercise
of it, and the further admission that the most recent economic bubble
took me also for a ride. The Bible itself is largely a story of
lessons widely circulated and known but not applied.
Mark
Twain said “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man
who cannot read.” It makes me shudder to speculate on the amount
of money spent on education compared to the portion of it that is
practically applied.
Here
I recall Yeats phrase “Measurement began our might.” As this
applies to any serious plan for losing weight, it also forms the
foundation of most effective behavior. Measurement is starkly
revelatory. It would be wildly irresponsible to have no good idea
of what funds one has in his checking account—clearly a situation
that is a disaster waiting to happen. Even so, we cannot all become
risk averse bookkeepers. Accepting risk for the right reasons is
essential for growth. Yet, there is no clear motive for accepting risk and
thus effectively acting without the reliance on measurement along
circumscribed as well as more expansive lines.
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