Learning, Growing, and Parallel Parking :: Emotional and Mental Health

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Learning, Growing, and Parallel Parking
by author Jenn Farrell

Do you get that itchy, unsettled “spring fever” feeling this time of year? It used to worry me, but now I know it’s just a winter’s worth of pent-up energy dying to come out.

It was through my daughter that I finally figured out my spring fever cure. As a Girl Guide and now a Pathfinder, she’s earned her badges by learning new skills. She’s discovered a lot about herself and now talks about becoming a camp counsellor or Guide leader herself one day.

By borrowing some of her eagerness to try new things, I sweep the cobwebs from my brain every spring. It’s easy to get myopic about the everyday adult –working, maintaining our homes, paying the bills–and unconsciously put a moratorium on learning and growth. I humbly suggest that we get out there, shake it up a bit, and do something entirely new and even a little scary.

When I say “scary,” I’m not necessarily talking about sky-diving (although if that’s your bag, then go for it), but something that takes you out of your comfort zone and uses some neglected parts of your body and brain. Whether it’s public speaking, belly dancing, or French cooking, we all have something that we’ve longed to learn but that we let fear, and a long list of feeble excuses, keep us away from trying.

For me, the big fear is learning to drive. So this spring that’s exactly what I’m planning to do.

I’m justifiably nervous–as a teen, I failed my driving test three times before I applied the baseball metaphor and struck myself out. Over the years, living in the city made driving a non-issue. But things change, and now I need, and want, to get behind the wheel.

Maybe there’s a skill you can pick up that will reap immediate rewards–a cooking course or a plumbing or wiring workshop. If delicious dinners or installing light fixtures aren’t “springy” enough for you, then a gardening class might get you going, though it doesn’t need to have any practical application.

If you want to learn to scuba dive but you’re not planning a diving trip anytime soon, who cares? I took a pottery course once that went on for several weeks, and I came out of it with one rinky-dink little bowl. But my time there wasn’t about leaving with a set of bowls; it was about getting my hands dirty and just playing. And those were some satisfying hours.

So this spring, let go of a few rules, free up some time, and learn something for the pure enjoyment of it. It’s about the experience, so shake off any thoughts of success or
failure. (Well, okay, except for the driving test!)

Which reminds me: you might want to put on a helmet and stay off the sidewalks. I may be driving through your neighbourhood.

Jenn Farrell is a Vancouver writer who really just wants to skip this whole car business and go straight to a motorcycle.

Source: alive #294, April 2007

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