Why learning is for life

The French artist Renoir painted a picture of a flower when he was on his death-bed. As he was dying he apparently said:

“I think I’m beginning to understand something about art.”

A true lifelong learner – an open mind right up to his last breath.

I have to confess that when I was in the job that should remain nameless (the civil service) the words “lifelong learning” used to wash over me, one of those meaningless expressions that get bandied about by politicians and educational theorists, bearing little relationship to life (or at least to my life at that time).

Things changed when I took up coaching. For me, one of the defining features of coaching is that it opens your mind to learning again: about yourself, about life, about your values and what’s important to you, about new possibilities, about avenues previously unexplored, opening up new doors that you’d previously marked off as ‘closed’ (too old, too late to change, not clever enough). And once you start down that path of your learning – driven by you, your motivation, your life – it’s totally addictive. You’ll never want to stop.

My most recent foray into new learning has been exploring the power of Baroque music to help us concentrate and learn. I started finding out about this as part of the background work for the dyslexia coaching course. I’d also dipped into some of the material about Baroque music on Robyn McMaster’s site. But the best way to learn of course is to do, so I experimented with using Baroque music to help me master something new.

The dyslexia coaching includes a number of physical exercises to help with balance, co-ordination and develop different parts of the brain. Now as someone who is pretty well challenged when it comes to physical co-ordination this was less than totally easy for me. But my motivation was high (learn to do this and you can help pass it on to kids with dyslexia). So I experimented doing the exercises to Baroque music and it really worked – better concentration, slower pace, greater sense of rhythm, less focus on what I ‘couldn’t’ do as I allowed the music to take me through the exercises. Brilliant! I’m a convert. The music isn’t naturally my cup of tea, but it definitely grows on you, and if it works, it’s worth it.

I’m still learning about this as I said but as I understand it the most important thing is to get Baroque music with a slow or ‘largo’ beat. I found a list of suggested pieces here.

For me it’s a way of slowing down into a rhythm which is natural, powerful, restful, which allows me to do things I didn’t ‘think’ I could do. It’s a way of tapping into a different state. Of making new connections – inside and outside of yourself. Seeing new applications. Opening up new possibilities. Accessing your childlike sense of curiosity, wonder and fun.

Growing and changing and learning: the natural rhythm of life.