Nothing compares with the tutoring of life.

We were created to grow. Life is an adventure in learning and progress, becoming a little wiser and better each day. In this sense, without some kind of growth or improvement, we cease to live. And this life, where we are surrounded by fellow learners, is the best setting for learning.

In fact, one could say that there is no such thing as truly "independent" learning. Reading a lot of books can expand your mind, but deeply connecting with another person can enlarge your heart. These words from a wise teacher ring true: "I learned a lot in school and from reading, but I learned the most from people living with them, working with them, rubbing shoulders with them, making mistakes with them. . . .People have always been my greatest teachers."

It's been said that if you want to become wise, treat every conversation as an opportunity to learn. Care about others enough to learn from them. Everyone knows something you don't know: lessons learned from experiences, knowledge gained from work and study, perspective earned from challenges and sorrow.

Nothing compares with the tutoring of life. 

For example, children can obviously learn a lot from wise and experienced parents. But you don't have to be a parent for very long to realize that parents often learn just as much from their children. Family life also teaches us that we learn and grow the most through caring for and about others. A young man learns about courage by watching his dear mother fight a debilitating illness. A father learns to be more patient by parenting a willful child. A young woman gains a new perspective on life when she visits an elderly neighbor to talk but mostly to listen. No one is ever the same if they embrace opportunities to learn from others. 

Human relationships are the raw materials that make a rich, meaningful, fulfilling life. So instead of using people and loving things, the best people use things and love people. They know that in every person, every conversation, every experience is an opportunity to learn. 

Lloyd D. Newell