When, by living example, we encourage those who will live after us to learn the greatest lessons of their lives, it is we who are young. The caterpillar is condemned to crawl, but the butterfly has the potential to soar above with an all-inclusive view of the world. As humans we complete our caterpillar stage when we reach mature physical growth. If we are to soar like the butterflies, we must do so through the development of our minds. Indeed, the very thing that determines the quality of the later seasons of life is the degree to which we are interested in learning more about the world.
Interesting people are people who are interested.
People who are only absorbed in themselves are boring. People who stop learning in effect stop living. That which ceases to grow begins to decay. Brains that are not used atrophy. Learning, then, is an act of becoming, which makes lifelong learning a realization of being.