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‘Too old’ to learn? Never!
Recently I downsized from a house with a large yard to a smaller townhouse. Everything was so convenient in the new home, except that the furniture arrangement on the main floor left no room for my stereo, which I had previously used to play CDs. I consulted a sound technician to see how to make room for the stereo components and install hidden speakers. He told me the “way of the future” was for me to copy my CDs onto my computer, play them on a wireless speaker, and control what I played from anywhere in my house with a cellphone. Very convenient, right?
It didn’t feel that way to me. Sometimes I think technology is advancing faster than I’ll ever keep up. I just master one thing, and my children tell me I must learn another. Sometimes I want to throw up my hands and coast along as is, not trying new things because it is too much work. But when I think about what I’ve learned in Christian Science about my real identity, I realize I don’t want, or need, to accept this position.
It can be tempting to be apathetic, satisfied only with things that are familiar, and not to put forth the effort for something worthwhile. But I saw that submitting to apathy would be agreeing that I’ve reached the peak of my capability and must face the alternative—that I’m “too old” to do whatever is right for me to do. Such limits were never given to the man whom God created, made in His image and likeness. The attitude of being too old to express intelligence and productivity is an incorrect identification of ourselves as limited and mortal, not spiritual and ageless.
God, our creator, is the one divine Mind, the source of infinite spiritual ideas, and thus our source of inspiration can never dry up. We already have all the intelligence and ability we need. Thoughts are always flowing from God to man. Only refusing to open the tap, to listen, inhibits our receptivity to this Christly message.
Our source of inspiration can never dry up.
The belief that Mind is in the brain would give life and intelligence to inert matter, which is not the stuff of which God created life—life that like Him, Spirit, is spiritual and doesn’t come with limitations. We read in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “Progress takes off human shackles. The finite must yield to the infinite. Advancing to a higher plane of action, thought rises from the material sense to the spiritual, from the scholastic to the inspirational, and from the mortal to the immortal” (p. 256). Whatever is opposed to life and productivity is opposed to God’s creation, and therefore unnatural. Understanding this opens windows to new possibilities and new joys.
As I prayed with these ideas, the right steps to take became clear. It didn’t take more than a couple of days to bring my music into the new age of technology. I bought a wireless speaker, copied many of my CDs onto my computer, and now I’m able to enjoy my music again. That is not to say it was an effortless transition, but I was led to just the right people for help when I needed it, and issues were quickly resolved.
Now I can dance to music around my living room as I dust and mop my wood floors. I’m even ready with energy to tackle the next technological challenge—whatever it may be.