“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

I came across this quote from the 1970 book “Future Shock” by Alvin Toffler the other day, and it stopped me in my tracks (well, in my scrolling). I went on to explore more about Toffler’s ideas and found this brief explanation of what I shared above, “Future shock is the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time.” A theme that is echoed through many of my newsletters is change and how we must find ways to navigate it. Given the complexities of our modern lives and this new part of history we're living through, I really believe managing change is our pathway to understanding and achieving some semblance of balance. What strikes me most about the quote is how it underscores the educational and social imperative to evolve, and it reminds us how to do it: learn, unlearn, relearn. It reminds us that a linear approach to our world doesn’t work because our world and humans are always changing.

That first step, learning, is a lifetime journey. No matter who we are or where we’re at in our lives, learning is never done. Digital technology and globalization have created a pace of change that simply demands an ever-evolving skillset and knowledge base, not only for our professional lives but also our personal ones. We don’t need to know everything, but we can be curious enough to lead with a beginner’s mindset. We can thrive if we ‘learn’ into change instead of resisting it.

Then, the unlearning. It’s not a word or concept we hear much about in our culture, but it’s equally as important as learning. As change unfolds, we must let go of outdated information and obsolete beliefs because they hinder our progress. Just because we believe something to be true doesn't mean it always will be that way. If permanence were a thing, we'd still be hairy creatures roaming the earth with dinosaurs. Maintaining the status quo is impossible. So, here we are, in a very different time with social norms and expectations that change with every generation. And with that, our responsibility is to question and dismantle our internalized ideas or misconceptions and stay open to new possibilities and truths. Unlearning stereotypes and prejudices is part of our jobs as humans. It's essential for personal growth and peace.

And finally, relearning. Relearning bridges who we are with who we will become. It allows us to embrace new points of view and new information as substitutes for what we’ve unlearned. Our personal experiences have been shaped by our own perceptions, which, in the scheme of things, are very narrow: it's ours, and it's always the same unless we purposefully step outside our comfort zone. I see relearning as an opportunity to consistently revisit our understanding of the world and update it, like software. While we can constantly update our perception of the world, we also have to recognize the world is constantly updating itself for us to cohabitate and live peacefully within it. Change is happening on many levels, and relearning is the way to further understanding amidst the changes.

In my house, we started composting to make a very small contribution toward reversing the damage humans are inflicting on the planet; as a family, we are relearning ways of existing in this world that we are privileged to exist within. We all have an opportunity to relearn social dynamics because we live in increasingly multicultural societies. Difference is all around us. We are increasingly living and working with people whose sexual and gender identities, religions, race, generational expectations, countries of origin or immigration statuses, and political beliefs are not necessarily like us or familiar to us. But none of these people, and none of their needs or values, are going away.

Digging our feet into the ground isn't going to help us manage the change happening around us. Resisting learning, unlearning, and relearning will lead to stagnation. When people stagnate, they get old, tired, and cranky. They exist but can’t thrive. When societies stagnate by clinging to outdated morals or beliefs and refusing to adapt, they create environments more vulnerable to misunderstanding and conflict. Much of the conflict we’re experiencing at local and global scales is a result of our inability to accept the changing world and our unwillingness to learn about others. We must care for people—individuals and groups of people—even when we don't understand them; that is what opens our hearts and minds to the possibility of a better tomorrow. I think the ultimate goal of learning, unlearning, and relearning is to find our way back to each other. And I don't know that we ever will fully, but in a world that's violent and rife with discrimination and bigotry, trying is everything. What are you resisting? Who are you resisting? Those are your opportunities for growing understanding and expanding your worldview.

At this moment, celebrating feels hard for many of us, but I am taking time this week to be thankful. Practicing gratitude brings us back to our center. In 2024, I want to be more open, receptive, and aware. I want to be decent and human—with all the complexities that humans are. I want to be a connector and a person moving with purpose. I want to build bridges, not walls because I believe our survival and progress depend on that. I think learning, unlearning, and relearning will guide me there. I think it's actually the blueprint we all need to survive this next century. It's a call to action: to embrace change and challenge ourselves, to tend to our knitting, and to open ourselves up to the endless possibility of understanding. As we look to 2024 and beyond, I really want more and more of us to commit to a collective journey toward a more enlightened, inclusive, and cohesive world that all starts with our desire to be more open and to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Will you join me?

I hope you have a peaceful end to 2023 and a bright beginning to 2024.

Nancy