the z, y, x's of life "U" unlearning

these 26 entries from z-a are meant as a tandem collection of short essays.  instead of the abc's of life, i'm writing backwards for two reasons.  t.s. eliot said that to make an end is to make a beginning, which i find true.  that and my grandfather could say the alphabet backwards faster than i could say it forwards.  now that's some wit.

"U" is a tricky one.  i could write about "ugly karaoke holiday sweaters" or the nickname given me by colleagues, "she who stands with unicorns and rainbows" (they find me cheerful).  but what i keep coming back to is "unlearning".

i'm so grateful for everything i've learned, it's not as if i want to forego all of it, rather i'd like to make room for everything i didn't learn. so when i say "unlearning" it's more in terms of making space for the rest of the story.  

for every tidbit we learn in history, for example, it is because it's from someone's perspective that happened to get chosen.  which means there are many more perspectives out there.  

i find myself hungry for nourishing traditions as if craving vital nutrients.  so my book pile is thick with everything from indiginous wisdom and celtic spirituality to garden harvesting and medieval mystics.  round that out with documentaries, biographies, poetry, music and art and well, it's a perpetual feast.

my more developed brain would get so much more out of high school now, if i were able to go back, because of added perspective and connections.  the facts and figures then just didn't make all that much sense out of context.  i'm grateful for the exposure so that now i can say, "aha!" and am also grateful that we never stop learning, we never fully "arrive" in this regard.

it feels a bit like cleaning house, wherein i make a 1) keep 2) toss and 3) donate pile.  what to do with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that i already have?  how might i examine it?  what gaps would i like to fill in next and where can i search that out? 

key to this process for me are curiosity, humility, and kindness.  this helps me ask questions such as, "what do i not yet know?", "what might be possible here?", "i wonder...", and "how might we..." and "what's the story here?"