Education should not be left when we leave school. I am of the opinion that education should be ongoing and stimulating. For example, I am a walking encyclopedia of useless facts. Well, they can be pretty useless until someone has a question. Most of the time, I am able to help them find an answer. This could be why my phone rings non-stop some days…
Reading is one way to educate yourself. I can think of no other way to learn new things that I personally like best. However, I also realize that not everyone is a reader. Plenty of people just don’t have the desire, inclination, nor time to read. What are their options?
Books on tape? I love them. We use them on long road trips. You can rent them from the library, buy them online, or at any bookstore. There are also a lot of great deals to be had. If you don’t want to do that, you can download them from iTunes for a nominal fee. Sometimes there are freebies. I have found quite a few gems this way.
What are other things you can do to expand your mind? First, and most important, ignore anything Timothy Leary ever said. Second, go out of your comfort zone.
Museums are great places to expand your knowledge. I am not just talking about an art museum. Try your local history museum. Visit a gallery. You don’t have to purchase anything, but sometimes you can find real gems for a relatively small investment.
What about those of us who are more hands on? If you have a science museum that is close by, go visit it. Get your hands dirty. Aquariums are great as well. Personally, I love local craft fairs/shows. You get to meet the artists, learn about their work and most of their time there are hands on exhibits teaching their techniques.
Independent and foreign movies are fabulous and you can really immerse yourself in another
culture. Check to see if your town has a theater showing indies or art house films. However, if XXX is on the marquee, I’m not quite sure that is the direction you want to take.
That being said, I am off to find out how to preserve leaves by dipping them in beeswax, courtesy of the ever fabulous Martha Stewart.