The Profound Learner

“Every single person on this planet knows something I don’t know.”

That realization is humbling, don’t you think?

To take that further, everyone you run into is more expert in something than you are. To be reminded, one only needs to run into a problem with something – car, sprinklers, a blank computer screen, the list goes on and on – that requires help. Suddenly that previously invisible person becomes the most important person – police officer, nurse, tow truck driver – in our universe.

And this holds for everyone. The theoretical physicist may know a lot about concepts we can’t even pronounce, but she might not know much about the Renaissance or how to play a flute. The cocky pundit swears to know the “truth” about some political situation and doesn’t know anything about microeconomics or how to milk a cow. Don’t kid yourself, we are all ignorant about most things in the world, more so about the universe and even more so about multi-verses, should they exist.

Every single person knows something I don’t know, even if it is just about the experiences they have had that are different than mine.

Here the idea is introduced of the profound learner as someone who recognizes they don’t know everything and spends time pursuing deeper-ness. Deeper relationship, deeper knowledge, deeper questions, deeper experience. They deepen their lives as a matter of course.

These folks know that they will never reach an end to this pursuit, but will be able to continue this journey of discovery for as long as they live and, depending on one’s world view, perhaps much longer.

Curiosity, humility, courage – these are all qualities of people who are interested in exploring what they don’t yet know.