{"id":275,"date":"2011-07-06T08:02:04","date_gmt":"2011-07-06T12:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/awakeintheworld\/?p=275"},"modified":"2011-07-05T08:53:25","modified_gmt":"2011-07-05T12:53:25","slug":"the-school-of-life-get-on-the-bus-to-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2011\/07\/the-school-of-life-get-on-the-bus-to-grow.html","title":{"rendered":"The School of Life: Get on the Bus to Grow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Life is a school. From day one until old age it can bring new discoveries and help us to grow. But many people hold the attitude that once they leave high school, college or grad school that they\u2019re exempt from learning. They\u2019ve passed the tests, received the diplomas and they have no more to learn. They shut down their minds and close the door to the school house.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/~\/media\/DFFBB6171B0B4ED19B252F1C140A715F.ashx?w=220&amp;h=165\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"165\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Life learning does not stop when school\u2019s out and it doesn\u2019t necessarily take place in a school setting. When we are open and pay attention we can continue to learn about ourselves, improve and grow. Life teaches us through the situations it presents in relationships, through difficulty and in hardships. Sometimes the situations that seem painful and bring discomfort propel us into the greatest periods of learning about ourselves. They can break us open and help us to transform.<\/p>\n<p>Today when you wake up, imagine a\u00a0 yellow school bus arrives and you decide to get on.\u00a0 In your imagination, ride it throughout the day and see where it takes you. Learning requires an attitude of openness to make mistakes and curiosity about the unknown. Where does your school bus go and what do you learn? Sometimes life subjects tolerance, kindness and compassion. What will you major in during this lifetime? Remember you&#8217;re never too old to grow.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Bio:<\/strong> Debra Moffitt is author of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Awake-World-Practices-Divinely-Inspired\/dp\/0738727229\">Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life<\/a>. A visionary and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com\/\">http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Life is a school. From day one until old age it can bring new discoveries and help us to grow. But many people hold the attitude that once they leave high school, college or grad school that they\u2019re exempt from learning. They\u2019ve passed the tests, received the diplomas and they have no more to learn.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,4,3],"tags":[182,181,183],"class_list":["post-275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-inspiration","category-spiritual-practice","tag-life-as-a-school","tag-life-long-learning","tag-never-too-old-to-grow"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The School of Life: Get on the Bus to Grow - Awake in the World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The School of Life: Get on the Bus to Grow - Awake in the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Life is a school. 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