Ever since I was a little girl I’ve always been interested in learning as much as I could. With the realization of how much there is out there to learn and a greater appreciation of my time — my ideas about learning have really changed.
I guess — better put —- it’s really my strategies in learning that have changed.
For Example
I subscribe to certain things online that I feel will benefit me and keep me abreast of what is happening in certain areas. BUT — I read a lot of headlines and don’t waste a lot of time reading in detail about things that I can’t do anything about—— or anything thing that is just fluff — like what new person some movie star is going with now.
It’s a proven fact that humanly — we can’t know it all (10% at best) —- even if we have access to the information.
We have to choose carefully what we feel is important to our lives and try to be knowledgeable on subjects that will better help us and our families to have a better quality of life —- even with the horrendous situation going on with food, GMOs, and many other things in this country that the uninformed are totally blinded to.
My Strategy – What I Look For
I look for details that will give me
- the information I need to practice self-empowerment.
- Information that helps me make the situation better for myself and those I can influence in some way.
- Information that enables me to do better.
- Information that helps me take more control of my life.
Headlines will do for the rest of the happenings— because — whether we realize it or not — time is limited for us all. So why not use the time we have on things that are uplifting, helpful and that empower us to be the best we can be. That seems to me the best way to help not only ourselves, but those around us as well.
The media — marketing — and Fact-Free propaganda
The media (and marketing) “feeds” the masses a great deal of fact-free propaganda using various slogans and catchwords.
I would dare to say that a vast percentage of our population falls hook-line-and sinker into believing most of what is promoted without any meaningful information and facts to back it up. Most of the time — someone with an agenda (to benefit only themselves) is behind all this. It matters not if the subject is Monsanto, GMOs, our food supply or politics or gardening.
People who haven’t for whatever reason kept up with what is really important to their lives (for example – the food that sustains our bodies) are easily duped by so called “intellectuals” who have in many fields — replaced what works — with what sounds good. In most cases — what sounds good pertains to “instant gratification”.
Gardening is one of those fields.
Bottom line —there’s no free lunch — even in learning the truth about things. To obtain anything good — takes action on your part. You have to make an effort.
The great news is gardening is easy. You don’t need hardly any of things the so called experts say that you need. All you need is a desire to garden and the willingness to tend it while it’s doing all the real work for you.
I try (and will continue) to make it even easier for you here on TMG with good down to earth, practical, common-sense gardening information. I’ve spent 35 years finding easier ways to do things in the garden and I’m STILL learning.
I’m looking forward to an exciting new year in the garden and wish you the same!
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Organic gardening is easy, efficient, effective — and it’s a lot healthier.
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Hi Theresa, Most interesting, and I agree. You are in good company here, with limiting your newspaper reading – both Thomas Jefferson and C. S. Lewis spoke about its little actual helpfulness.
What did strike me in what you said, was how easily we have handed over the management of what is truly important in our lives to big industry – our daily bread. An inspiring post for the new gardening year. Happy New Year!!
PS – I love your term, ‘fact-free’ that’s great!!! It made me chuckle. Did you make it up?
Hi Theresa,
Very interesting post today. I hope that your holiday season is a good one and that you have a great 2013.
Carol
Sandra — I go further than limiting —- I don’t even read the newspapers anymore. I stopped that long ago.(A decade ago or more.) Might not be a totally good thing — but I don’t want to concentrate on the bad and the petty and that’s usually what you find in the newspaper. (There’s always the exception to the rule of course.) I can usually find what is important online much more quickly.
I too LOVED the term “fact-free” propaganda! Wish I could take credit for it — but I saw Robert Ringer use it in an article about low-information voters. The term so perfectly describes what’s going on in the media. They just print “whatever” — no facts — just whatever feels good to them. And that is the case with so much “information” online and off.
Happy New Year to you as well!
Theresa
Thank you Carol! I wish the same for you!
Theresa
Sherlock Holmes would agree with you, also. He only allowed himself to learn and to keep in his brain what pertained to his field of expertise–which in his case was, of course, solving crime mysteries. I know that he was only fiction, however, but the fact does remain that we can be easily distracted from what is most important. I am enjoying reading your posts and keeping myself on track.
Well said Laura!
Makes me happy to see you reading a lot of my post because I know you have the desire to be successful with your garden. Let me know what actions you have planned.
Theresa
One of my favorite posts so far! Wonderfully said, Theresa.
Glad you liked it Brittany!