Very early, I knew that the only object in life was to grow.

Very early, I knew that the only object in life was to grow. – Margaret Fuller

How far away is the nearest book? Do you keep something handy to help you grow? What is of interest to you?

What does that mean?
This is a very interesting quote from a fascinating person. From her biography, she was taught by her father (a well educated man), and could read and write by the time she was three and a half.

The biography said her education was much more the type a boy was given in the early 1800’s, and was quite rigorous. She read extensively and learned many languages, including several modern languages as well as Latin.

To me, this shows how seriously she took her early realization of the object of life, as she saw it. Growth, mental and intellectual, was paramount to her, a consuming passion.

While I might quibble with the word ‘only,’ I strongly agree with her, and believe that growth of the mind, the spirit, the heart, the intellect and in all our faculties is very important, indeed. Growth is life.

Why is growth important?  
If you aren’t growing, what are you doing? Are you shrinking? Are you becoming less? I don’t believe it is possible to stay exactly where you are for any length of time. We forget facts, we lose track of things, we lose the fine edge of our mind, our thinking goes a little fuzzy.

That is, unless we continue to grow. As constant use keeps the teeth of rabbits sharp, so constant use keeps us sharp. Learning things, improving ourselves, working on our abilities, these are all ways of growing, of becoming more, of staying sharp.

Growth is a driving force in life. While humans stop their physical growth in the teenage years, our learning and improving only stops when we chose to stop trying. I try to keep learning because it fascinates me, and I enjoy the challenge of learning and mastering (or at least trying to) new things. What about you?

Where can I apply this in my life?
To me, growth is one of my passions. I try to learn something every day, even if it’s a useless bit of trivia. There are always skills to try to improve, talents to nurture. For example, today I spent about twenty minutes working on my alleged juggling skills. What did you work on today?

Grab some paper and write down what things you worked on getting better at, what information you learned, or what you may have figured out today. If you wish, you can go back a couple days (or even a whole week) and write down some of the highlights. What does your list look like?

Now, with your past day’s (or more) adventures in growth in mind, what things on which you think might be interesting to work? I mentioned juggling, as at one point I was so clumsy, I could hardly hold a pencil, and have been working off and on (mostly off) for years to get a basic level of skill as a way of growing in that aspect of myself.

Write down a couple things you think would be fun to learn how to do. Singing, dancing, running, juggling, flying, skydiving or swimming might be on the list. And that’s just physical skills. What about mental skills, would you like to learn a language or how to play a game? What sounds like it would be fun to learn?

What else could you do? Reading books was one of the primary learning tools for the author of the quote. Later, travel was used to supplement the books, and her language skills were used extensively. Do either of those sound like a fun way to grow?

What subjects are of interest? If you can’t make up your mind, go to your local library, or visit Project Gutenberg for some ideas. See what topic has the widest selection, and dig in. If you get bored, switch to one of the other topics, until you find something you really like.

For travel, what cultures, locations, or people are of most interest to you? What can you learn about the country, it’s people, the cultures, the geography, the language and all the other details? Is that an interesting way to stretch your brain?

You could even learn the language! What about trying to find a local group of people who are from that area? Some of the larger cities have ethnic neighborhoods where you might be able to find a small shop, and strike up a conversation. Wouldn’t that be interesting? Lots of growth potential there as well, right?

Now look back at your notes. Does it look like you are in for a little bit of growth in the future? I hope it looks like fun, I know my future looks like it’s going to be full of growth!

From: Twitter, @GaryLoper
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/margaretfu382872.html
Photo by Boris SV

Happy Birthday to Margaret Fuller, born 23 May, 1810.