Learning, A Lifelong Process

Learning is not linear. It doesn’t occur in steps, levels or grades.Learning can’t be captured on paper – not on exams, report cards, certificates, diplomas or even resumes. It doesn’t really care what letters you have next to your name, how much you spent for each credit or how much you think your credentials are worth.Learning is not preoccupied with the future. It doesn’t wait until graduation to celebrate or for a career to know its worth. And we all know that learning has very little to do with recognition and promotions.Learning is not even about progress. Progress is a distraction, consuming our lives by distracting us from what is.Learning is what is happening within and around us in webs, waves, splashes, spirals and swirls. It is recorded within us and expressed around us. It is present. It is ongoing. It is a process, a journey. It is empowering, not anxiety provoking. It is inclusive; it connects, not divides. It accepts us, as we are, here and now.We all know this because at some time and place each of us has experienced learning, experienced ourselves, fully, in the moment, in the process of learning.How do you know that you are learning? Describe a time when you were immersed in the process of learning. Did you know that you were learning in the moment or did you become aware of it as you reflected back on the experience?Enlightenment, too, is a process, an ongoing process of, in and through learning.Let this Certificate serve as a reminder that you have not completed the learning process, nor will you in this lifetime. (This ticket to freedom may be also be used to exempt you from taking part in "learning" that is meaningless to you.) Congratulations, you have earned this certificate simply by being you!