Lifelong Learning: A Pathway to Greater Wisdom and Personal Growth

Learning is not only a hallmark of one’s early years; it can be a lifetime journey of exploration, discovery, and growth. Being that avid lifelong learner is a choice. Learning is not solely an outcome of formal education; it is intrinsic to the human experience. As older adults, we are still given opportunities to expand our horizons to enhance our lives and engage with others in meaningful ways.

I made a commitment to lifelong learning in the middle of my career as a licensed clinical therapist and social worker. I worked at the Leighton Center for Senior Health which later transitioned into Memorial BrainWorks, a department within Beacon Health System in South Bend, Indiana. My responsibilities included coordinating and often facilitating education programs on a wide range of topics from aging with meaning to memory strategies to the forgiving brain. Time after time I observed the transformational impact that older adults experienced in these events. At the end of a sage-ing workshop, one woman shared “I am no longer viewed as the worn-out, throw-away husk, but the fruit, the harvest of a lifetime!”  What a profound paradigm shift for this woman who was in her 70’s!

A few years after retirement I became the Education Service Provider for Sage-ing International! I attend most of the online offerings and am so inspired with equally profound insights. I am also grateful for what I hear other participants share about their personal new discoveries, but I am deeply saddened too as I think about the people who have missed these incredibly enlightening opportunities.

Being an active, lifelong learner generates a lengthy list of potential benefits including:

• Cognitive Health – Research shows that lifelong learning can reduce the risk of cognitive decline associated with older years and supports mental sharpness. Lifelong learning nurtures curiosity, wonder, and creativity and stimulates us to rethink predetermined notions and refines our understanding of our experiences.
• Emotional Well Being – Pursuing interests, discovering passions, and growing in personal insights lead to a sense of satisfaction and happiness.
• Adaptability/Flexibility – We become better prepared to meet the challenges of life’s transitions and uncertainties with more resilience. We learn to be more skillful at solving problems because we learn to look at situations from various perspectives, drawing on our growing wealth of knowledge and wisdom.
• Improved Relationships – In addition to greater self-awareness, practicing deep listening and effective communication within a learning community are skills that can be applied to refining our personal relationships.
• Self-Fulfillment – Lifelong learning is inherently rewarding, leading to a sense of accomplishment, meaning and purpose.
• Spiritual growth- Lifelong learning helps us reflect on our lives and harvest the wisdom of our lifetime of experience.

Sage-ing International offers YOU profound opportunities for nurturing the mind and enriching the soul. We offer online and in-person events and experiences through our:

• Signature programs: workshops/retreats focusing on Sage-ing’s core topics (Images of Aging, Life Review, Forgiveness, Facing Mortality, Legacy, and Service), providing tools and resources to navigate the aging years with greater understanding and purpose
• World Wisdom programs: webinars exploring cultural traditions and global perspectives on aging and spirituality
• Enrichment programs: webinars/workshops reflecting areas of study related to aging more consciously facilitated by guest presenters who are accomplished Sage-ing Leaders, authors, innovators, and other creative professionals, and
• Special experiences: including Wisdom Circles, Creative Expression Circles, Conferences, Rituals, Remembrance Ceremonies, Multigen Projects, etc.

Being an avid lifelong learner is a choice. And, by embracing this pursuit of knowledge and wisdom throughout our aging years, we invest in our ongoing evolution and sweeten our lives.

“Eldering is a vast unexplored territory, filled with promise and risk, questing and growth. During this time, we can explore our depths, continue a course of lifelong learning, and take our wisdom out into the world.”

 — From Age-ing To Sage-ing, p. 38