Spring is the time for new life to emerge. June is particularly connected with the new life of the graduate. Celebrations are found at every level of advancement in the education system. The graduate faces new adventures and new responsibilities.

This is especially true for the student leaving high school or college. The “real” world is before them and they must try their skills, the way a baby bird flutters about testing his wings.

My daughter graduated last Saturday with a degree in dental hygiene, nine years after she received her dental assisting license. You’d think that her wings would be well developed in launching her new beginning. But each succession brings its own uncertainty.

So it is true in all our lives. Learning, growing and changing doesn’t require a formal educational system. Every day brings opportunities to gain knowledge. Each challenge should be seen as a training field for strengthening our skills. A disagreement can teach us to be more tolerable; a misunderstanding can show us how to listen better; or a hurtful remark may teach us forgiveness.

Proverbs 1:7 says, “Fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Don’t be a fool: look for your chance to absorb all the knowledge available.

Have you learned something lately that changed the way you thought about that thing?