Wide-eyed Learning

I wanted to share an excerpt from a book that I am reading which very surprisingly summed up one of my strongest values. I say "surprisingly" because the book is technically an organizational management book called The Fifth Disclipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter Senge. Sounds dry, huh? Well, although a management classic, Senge's book takes a decidedly more philosophical, more holistic approach than a typical management guidebook would take. I'm not finished with the book yet, but the general idea is that companies can improve their chances of success by taking a systems thinking approach in order to master 3 core learning capabilities. These 3 abilities can be thought of as approaches to problem solving and are: fostering aspiration, developing reflective conversation, and understanding complexity. Well, this just skims the surface of the book, but you can see how the concepts go way beyond markets and profit--I'm reading the book because I'm interested in social dynamics, community development, personal development, and policy-making. And this book connects these concepts under the paradigm of learning...perfect!

The idea of taking a position of learning toward the world is what I am attracted to. It's a perspective I respect and value, and one I aspire toward. It keeps me open and receptive and can protect me from the jaded know-it-all lurking inside. (No one, including me, likes it when she starts preaching and correcting and criticizing.) I see the power of learning as truly transformative, as you surrender yourself to an un-tried course of action, taking a leap of faith into a realm you know little about. The very attitude of learning is hopeful: an extension beyond one's self for a chance at improvement.

So, the excerpt! Mr. Senge says:

"Real learning gets to the heart of what it means to be human. Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we reperceive the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life. There is within each of us a deep hunger for this type of learning. As anthropologist Edward Hall says, 'Humans are the learning organism par excellence. The drive to learn is as strong as the sexual drive--it begins earlier and lasts longer.'

This, then, is the basic meaning of a 'learning organization'--an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future. For such an organization, it is not enough merely to survive. 'Survival learning' or what is more often termed 'adaptive learning' is important--indeed it is necessary. But for a learning organization, 'adaptive learning' must be joined by 'generative learning,' learning that enhances our capacity to create." (pg. 14)

Well, I imagine myself as the first organization I might begin to understand and learn with--an organization of energies, neuroses, experiences, blood cells, ancestral inheritances, memories, ideas, dreams, desires, actions. From there, I ripple out and try to keep my eyes open, heart wide.