“You are your greatest investment. The more you store in that mind of yours, the more you enrich your experience, the more people you meet, the more books you read, and the more places you visit, the greater is that investment in all that you are. Everything that you add to your peace of mind, and to your outlook upon life, is added capital that no one but yourself can dissipate.” -George Matthew Adams

Six years ago, I planted a handful of large hostas on my front terrace. In the four years that followed, I watered by hand, and even though I did my best to water regularly, I had no idea of their full potential. Fast forward to today, after a year and half of regular watering from an automatic sprinkler system, the hostas have sprung from their winter hibernation larger and more dense in foliage than any of the years past. It is no surprise that the regular, consistent watering has encouraged them, allowed them, to strive to their full beauty.

The knowledge we feed ourselves, our minds, our lives, is akin to the regular watering of any plant that is in need of moisture. Certainly, intermittent feedings can sustain a plant or a person, but subsisting merely means to settle and lose the opportunity to see what we might have been if we had nourished ourselves properly. For when we regularly feed our minds, we are then able to discover our full potential. While knowledge without action is fruitless, we first must gain the facts grounded in truth rather than propaganda. We must gather to us the tools that will allow us to discern truth from fallacy.

The gifts of knowledge are plentiful and occur in all the facets of our lives. For example:

1. Proper Foods for Optimum Health

When we understand how food works for or against our body, we can make better decisions when shopping, cooking and eating. The opportunity to build a body that will thrive or limp along is knowledge we can acquire.

2. The Workings of our Body

Basic biology, knowing how our bodies work, when to recognize they need assistance and what to expect as the body heals itself. Such basic knowledge, yet powerful information not to be taken for granted.

3. The Power of our Thoughts

Recognizing the power our thoughts alone can have over our actions is a splendid aha moment. For when we realize we can control our thoughts, we then too realize how much control we have over our success, our behaviors and our destiny.

4. The Gems of the Past 

When we understand history, we begin to understand how today was crafted. And when we understand that today’s magnificence or frustration isn’t a random apparition, our gratitude increases, our apathy decreases and we are more apt to be sparked to get involved.

5. The True Purpose of an Author

Rhetorical tools in writing, speech, art – any mode of communication – are powerful. And sadly even more powerful when the observers are unaware of their use. Therefore, as observers, it is vital to understand the purpose of the author, the context in which it was written (when and where), and their bias (everyone has one – not a good or bad thing, just a fact). Whether reading a piece of fiction, nonfiction, religious literature, historical text, poetry, sculpture, painting, look through the words/creation in order to see the truth in order to make the best decision for the life you wish to live.

6. Human Social Interactions

Sociology offers insightful understanding of humans and how and why they interact and behave as they do. To understand merely the basics is to provide yourself with knowledge so that you can begin to observe without reacting unnecessarily, as well as begin to create a healthy social circle that is conducive to your values.

7. Basic Requirements for Success

Whether you are applying to college or for a job, knowing the requirements is a simple, yet often forgotten, strategy when it comes to presenting yourself for serious consideration, and an opportunity to move forward to your goals.  When you understand the steps that must be followed to attain your goal, it allows for patience and determination to be that much easier to come by without losing hope.

Knowledge truly is everywhere, we simply need to seek it out and do so regularly. For when we do so regularly, we are fertilizing our lives, helping them to grow, progress and mature into the richness they have always had the potential to be. As today’s quote which began the post states, the gifts of knowledge are tremendous:

~Peace of Mind

When we face our fears, which often come from not knowing how something will work out or what it entails, we provide a path toward a solution which leads to calm, tranquility and a peaceful mind.

~A Life Consisting of Necessities without the Excess

When we realize the truth of who people are, the environments we live in and the path we want to take, it becomes far easier to let go of those things that don’t align with our values. We then begin to create a life of quality and contentment and lose those unnecessary energy drains.

~The Ability to Reach Our Dreams

When we know how the world works, we can successfully navigate through it. It is when we blindly continue forward, refusing to gain knowledge that we go off course and end up some place else.

Even after your formal schooling is done, the only way to stop learning is if you choose to not seek knowledge. To live well is to forever be learning. No matter you age, there will always be gifts to be enjoyed and savored if you nourish your life with knowledge. And isn’t that good news?

~SIMILAR POSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

~Change Your Thoughts, Change Your World

~How to Reach Your Full Potential

~11 Ways to Live More Mindfully

Photo by Chris Lawton