Learning Something New
I recently watched the new Netflix documentary, Martha, about the life of Martha Stewart, an eye-opening and honest look at an icon of our age. Stewart shared many facts about her life, previously unknown to me, along with some pithy wisdom. One nugget was, “Learn something new every day.” Wisdom for all of us in any age.
Mary of Bethany, who sat at the feet of Jesus to soak up his wisdom, might have shared such insight with us. So might Ellen Ochoa, who, like Mary of Bethany, stepped outside the expected norms of her time, soaked up wisdom, and succeeded in a world previously open only to men.
Ellen Ochoa was the first Latina woman in space, flying four missions totaling over 1,000 hours. Not surprisingly, learning was at the top of her list. She received her doctorate from Stanford University in California, setting an example of excellence for women everywhere. While in space, she studied the ozone layer to discover ways to better protect our planet from the effects of global warming.
And that’s not all! Ellen is an accomplished flutist who played the flute while floating weightlessly in space 200 miles above the Earth. Who says you can’t have some fun while learning and giving to society?
Four schools have been named after Ochoa, she’s a member of the International Air and Space Hall of Fame, and a cartoon has been produced about her life – Ready, Jet, Go!
Learning, recently touted by Martha Stewart, was long ago exemplified by Mary of Bethany, breaking the cultural norms of her day and daring to learn like the men – at the feet of Jesus. It was also heralded by Ellen Ochoa, who surpassed expectations of her people and gender by being the first Latina female astronaut. Each of these women personifies the Divine Spark of Empowerment.
On this election day, may each one of us exhibit the desire to learn more about the laws and policies of our country, about the issues at stake, about our friends and family whose values may have led them to vote differently than we. May we dare to be different and work toward unity through learning and compassionate understanding
Happy Learning Everyone!
Sparkle On!
Elizabeth
Learning somthing new everyday gives us an opportunity to experience a new beginning, maybe leading to something we could never have imagined.
Loved your sparkle on post. We recently attended a talk by a brain health expert and he said the #1 thing to do to keep your brain from aging is learning new things (not doing the same exercises like Suduko or crossword puzzles ). He especially highlighted learning a new language or musical instrument.