They read, they study, they take classes, they interview others. These folks are wise.
I call them all the time. Just this morning, my sister, an education expert, talked me through my stress about my daughter's kindergarten assessment. Yesterday, I called my friend, a cooking expert, to ask the proper technique for storing or freezing my scads of garden basil. Then I talked to another friend who knows how to counsel me through spiritual questions.
I even have bug experts in my life. I place emergency calls when weird looking insects attack my tomatoes.
A vibrant mind continues to learn. Interesting folks, I read, have at least 5 topics they study. As they age, they continue to grow in these areas, accumulating wisdom. And then they teach others. Normally, I think of expertise more narrowly. But why not journey towards more topics?
If I had to choose five, I'd pick subject areas like prayer, writing, teaching, parenting, and marriage. Maybe I could make these more specific and pare down each category into 5 subcategories. At that rate, I will have things to learn and do even in my 90's. Maybe I could assign a decade to each topic so, for the next 50 years, I'd have ways to grow.
My husband does this with his passion for history. The 30's? Revolutionary War. The 40's? Civil War. He spends 10 years reading everything he can on a certain historical topic.
This is why we have so much to talk about on date night. He doesn't experience that strange land called Boredom.
Living with flair means I study to become an expert. Maybe for this year of flair, I could expand my topics beyond semicolons and dashes. Maybe I could become an expert in Italian cooking or dressmaking. I'm on my way.
I want to have passion and growth until the day I die.