A Beginner's Mind

“In order to do something well, we must first be willing to do it badly. We must have the humility to be once again a beginner, to admit what we don’t know and admit that we wish to know more.” Julia Cameron

For the first time in my life, I was the oldest student in the room. At age 57, I have embarked on a two-year educational adventure leading to a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and, more than a few times in class, I seriously questioned my decision.

As classmates arrived electronically loaded, with earphones pumping music I’ve never heard, and coffee paid for, no doubt, with Paypal, this dinosaur sat with his wallet of cash and notebooks neatly arranged beside pens. As they shared their vivid work, the lack of detail in my own was embarrassing. Their colorful poetry, made my ordinary language feel like Kansas before the twister.

I wanted to run back to my old world, to my cozy study where I could sit and write as I always had, where my writing was good enough, but I knew better. If I was going to improve, I would need to be a beginner again. I would need to be willing to see my weaknesses as well as my strengths, and unlearn as much as I hoped to learn.

One of the great gifts of life is learning. The ticket for admission, however, is the vulnerability that comes with being a beginner. Admitting you are not the best at something, that there’s something you need to learn, is hard, particularly the older we are. Whether at work, in a relationship, or a hobby, learning something new can feel incredibly uncomfortable and demand more effort than first thought. No wonder so few do it.

As we draw to summer’s end, and another school year dawns, the invitation for each of us to be students again, to learn something new, stands before us. The question is, do we have the willingness to live our lives with the mind and heart of a beginner? If so, we will certainly master the fine art of living, and that is a degree well-worth getting.