Being a seeker of knowledge is not about creating a to-learn list and dutifully crossing them off, one by one. The pursuit of knowledge must have purpose.
For most of my life, my head has been in a book. Picture books, children’s books, young adult, and then on to the big leagues—all the other sections of the library or bookstore.
Books will forever be the most patient of companions, wrapping you in a cozy hug or delivering a portal to another dimension. Equal parts escapism and enlightenment.
When you want to learn more about a subject, you typically head to…you guessed it, a book. Of course, I include magazines, periodicals, and other printed literature within the realm of the term ‘book.’
Books are not the sole purveyor of knowledge, though they are perhaps the most turned to resource. A book at its core is a bound assemblage of unwritten papers or a website of blank space bordered by margins.
A person, an experience, or an idea is what transforms the limits to the limitless. Knowledge may be recorded in a book, but its birth happens before ink ever hits the paper or the first keystroke is made.
Knowledge exists within us all. Now that does not mean that we are all capable of being astrophysicists or poet laureates. But it does mean that we all have a sense of understanding about this world or our place in it.
The vast majority of the world are knowledge seekers. Students, readers, movie-goers, museum attendees, concert audiences, travelers. All of these seek knowledge in their own way and in the time they have available.
And that is where I want to pause for a moment. We are knowledge seekers in the time we essentially allot for it.
Time.
Time is a finite resource. And within it, we can allot one lane of knowledge, or multiple. Just because we are not astrophysicists does not mean we cannot learn about the inner workings of the solar system and the universe. Just because we are not poet laureates does not mean we cannot find truth in a poem or learn how to write our own sonnets.
What knowledge do you seek?
I will tell you some of mine.
I seek to learn additional languages, in both verbal and written form. I want to regain my former fluency in one, and then add others one by one. Language builds bridges, and I would rather build bridges than watch them burn.
I seek to learn how herbs and other foods can be used for healing instead of just seasoning. Learning the old ways that worked for millennia before the rise of big pharma creates a knowledge tonic of history, medicine, the environment, and compassion.
I seek to embrace new interests, those I have enjoyed in the past without seeing them through to the next iteration.
I seek to travel to new places, for we can better connect with those around us if we are able to appreciate the beauty of the lands they come from.
Focus on what knowledge you seek and why. Extend it beyond a goal or a single set of accomplishments. Rather, dedicate time to it and see where it takes you. Knowledge is not a race or a board game. It is a continual path that leads to destinations unknown.
My theme for 2023 was to “Choose joy, intentionally.” (More on that here.)
For 2024, my theme will be to “Seek knowledge purposefully.”
Being a seeker of knowledge is not about creating a to-learn list and dutifully crossing them off, one by one.
Being a seeker of knowledge is to realize value in history, to fortify connections with our fellow man, and to find transformative power in purpose.
What will you seek?
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