Here’s another way to look at relearning: through imagery.

Our view of reality often seems solid or fixed:

But one day we may notice that our view of the world has some cracks in it:

This can be alarming. We may worry that our life is going to pieces.

What if the cracks keep growing?

Perhaps something just doesn’t fit.

If we peek below the surface, we may uncover something more about ourselves:

Perhaps something is bothering us:

We may also blame other people for our troubles:

But our life still has cracks in it.

This can be very confusing:

It’s all too easy to react against this:

But we don’t need to lose hope:

There’s always a way to break through…

… though we may feel puzzled to find more pieces on the other side!

Don’t be alarmed.

They’re just more layers falling away:

We’ll enjoy the journey if we embrace the mystery of what’s coming next:

There’s nothing to fear in this. Going to pieces doesn’t mean that we lose the pieces. Everything is still there. We’re just discovering more parts of the puzzle that we didn’t even know existed.

Along the way, we may also notice that more life is growing in the picture:

As we become more alive, so does our world:

We may notice how much our views have shifted too:

And how well we’ve learned to keep our balance, even as the picture shifts:

The good news is that the deeper we go, the better the picture looks:

Who knows where this will go?

That’s part of the mystery.

Just remember that it’s more exciting to look at many different layers than it is to get too fixed in our views. Who wants to spend a lifetime staring at a single wall?

The cracks are there, even if we can’t see them yet.

As Leonard Cohen puts it: “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

Related posts:

1. Routes to relearning
2. Redirecting consumerism: 5 tips for my former self