I sometimes wonder as to why we do not learn from everyone around us and everything around us every day. Are you wondering what I am referring to ?

Let me start with my family. I have great opportunities to learn from all my family members. Let me share my opportunities and how I have benefited from it. My wife is a meticulous planner. She makes a list for everything she wants to do including buying vegetables or fruits or pending work on any occasion. I have not been that meticulous. Is it not an opportunity to learn planning in a simple way. Now let me move to my son. He lives life full size. A guy who never worries about tomorrow while he is enjoying today. How I wish I could learn from him ? Another quality to adore is his ability to make everyone around him happy when he is around. So enough to learn from him. Let me move to my daughter. She is an avid reader and writer. I have seen her start and finish a book even within an hour. I could learn the art of reading and writing from her. Although I am trying to write nowadays but never have been an avid book reader like her. Then my son in law. He keeps the home spick and span. He never loses an opportunity to keep his environs neat and clean. This is something I am not good at too. My office drawers could always be better organised. Last but not the least my grand son. He is a born artist. When he puts his pencil on paper, it ends in a beautiful art. I wish I was half as creative as he is.

Now let me look at the maid. She works for almost twelve hours every day and still has a beautiful smile when you meet her on the pathway. How many of us will be willing to smile at others after working twelve hours a day, day after day. If I look at my security guard. He is full of energy – day or night by being helpful to everyone around.

If we move to the work place. My boss has the ability to speak and convince anyone. He is eloquent in his communication. My office assistant continues to pursue courses one after the other even today after working for more than ten years. Her quest for learning is unending. One of my peers is a living example of how to treat others. He is all the time motivating everyone around him. If you meet him in the morning, your day is made and he energises everyone with his positive attitude to life.

Let me look at the things around me in the room. The fan teaches me to keep moving in life. The light teaches me to be bright and chirpy always. The Window teaches me to listen as the monsoon wind gushes through. The doors teach me to keep open my mind whenever I am stagnating. The walls teach me to be strong and firm in my beliefs.

With all these opportunities all around me, why do I stop learning ? Why do I need to attend a training programme to learn ?

Let’s start learning, unlearning and re-learning  from everyone and everything around us ?

S Ramesh Shankar