by Anne Marie Mongoven, OP
Sr. Anne Marie Mongoven
At some time during life every person teaches. Those of us who were or are classroom teachers know that one of the most important things a teacher does is learn. Learning is about making connections and seeing relationships. Sometimes we think we know, and then we consider the same reality from another point of view, and we see something new, something we had not seen before. It is amazing.
Often we spend time learning skills such as how to compute, to drive, to use a computer or even a cell phone, and throughout life there are always new skills to be learned. Learning some basic skills makes life easier or at least a bit more manageable.
Another realm of learning is the realm of insight. Insights come when we recognize the connections between opposites and among different realities or when we see relationships that we never saw before. Insights are learnings which emerge from our daily experiences, from analysis and critical reflection. When we re-imagine, re-consider, re-combine and re-connect our insights, we find a fullness of truth we had not previously experienced.
We learn by reflecting on our experience. We learn by listening to one another, by observing one another, by conversation with one another, by loving one another. We learn by noticing all the things that surround us, by looking and seeing. We learn by study, by reading, by immersion in the arts. We learn by doing.
Learning by doing is another way to learn. By doing justice, we learn what it means to be just. By loving others and responding to the love of others we learn what love is. It is by reaching out to others with kindness that we know what kindness is. We learn what praise is by praising, what believing means by believing, what worship is by worshiping, what prayer is by praying. We learn what friendship is by being a friend and by being befriended.
Sometimes we learn even while we are sleeping. In the middle of the night or early morning, we wake up with a new and exciting insight. Perhaps the real insight is that truth comes in rest and relaxation as much as in doing.
It is when the mind and the heart work together that we experience profound insights. In his Rule, St. Benedict wrote that wisdom “arises from mutuality, from dialogue and exchange, from listening . . . with the ear of the heart.” The wisdom of Benedict came from reflection on his life experiences and his study, but mostly from the sturdy relationship between his head and his heart. Head without heart can easily go astray. Heart without head can be foolish. Head and heart together lead us to wisdom.
Being human invites us to be lifelong learners, for being human includes a search for meaning. Being a Dominican emphasizes the invitation to bring our head and heart together as lifelong learners and to share whatever we learn with others. Sometimes we call that sharing “preaching.”
Learning brings us into contact with truth. As long as we are able to do so, we continue to learn for we never know once and for all the whole truth about any reality. That is not to say that truth is relative, only that no one of us ever has the whole truth. It may be that when we discuss together we have a certain fullness of truth. I think it is certain that when we study together with the ear of the heart we experience truth.