“I write of melancholy by being busy to avoid   melancholy ... to exercise myself... to ease my mind”

 

(Robert Burton)

 

As I have alluded to in the past, despite some content that I find to be rather upsetting, writing this blog is actually quite therapeutic - and these words hit the nail, absolutely on the head!

 

That’s all I’ll say about this, for now, though... 

 

The stimulation for this post, includes the place where I came across these words - namely an exhibition in Lichfield Cathedral, encountered during a recent visit to that city.  





A pretty magnificent piece of medieval architecture, don’t you think?

 

It is this Lichfield trip, that motivated today’s blog contribution.

 

I was aware that Lichfield’s most famous son (sorry - St Chad!) is Samuel Johnson.  Having, now visited it and undertaken some background reading, it seems that he wasn’t its only, resident brainbox! It has been home to a good number of erudite and respected intellectuals - to such an extent that Samuel Johnson called it “a city of philosophers”. 

 

Add to that, a campus of Staffordshire University, and you might call Lichfield, something of a seat of learning...

 

...and that is what I am thinking about today - “learning”. 


Of course, all of our experiences could be described as being part of a learning process and much of it is directed at the acquisition and maintenance, of “life skills” (or as OTs would put it - “activities of daily living”). 

 

What I am thinking about here though, is something a little more formal and directed at a greater (not necessarily, very much) intellectual outcome. This learning can be a result of teaching received or, of self-administered education. 

 

I’ll use the word “learning” in this sense, henceforth.

 

Cutting to the chase and, to an extent with hindsight, I have had a lifelong love of learning. And “yes” - I do know, that is pretentious alliteration!


I took school and (when  permitted) university quite seriously. In later life, legal practice and the provision of legal education involved a great deal of learning. 

 

With this in mind, I have felt that my ability and opportunities to learn, ground to a halt when I became Phil v2.0 - intellectual stimulation was, distressingly, a thing of the past and “lifelong” is a reference to the life of Phil v1.0 (or whatever version, Phil v1 had grown into).

 

I should, however, think again and the Lichfield (with its academic credentials) trip has stimulated some reconsideration.

 

Learning isn’t what it used to be But, by now, we know that “different isn’t necessarily worse” and learning isn’t “out of the window”, at all...

 

I have learned a fair bit since the accident and hope that this will continue to be the case, until the “end of my days”.

The usual note of positivity is pertinent here - I’ve got more time on my hands, in which to engage in it. Further I have both altered tastes and a lack of career pressure (which largely, dictated the topics to be learned). I can learn about lots of new things, in which I am genuinely interested - I have a newfound intellectual freedom!  

 

To give you, just a few examples of things that I have learned something about, in the guise of Phil v2.0:


·      I have acquired an interest in local history and have undertaken some research into aspects of it. A tangible outcome of this has been the writing and publication of an article in a local history magazine.

 

·      I have listened to the views of others on and read about the psychological effects of brain injury. I have then shared my resultant thoughts.  This includes an honest description of my melancholy. If nothing else, the time spent in doing so and its facilitation of positive reflection helps to reduce that melancholy - I guess that I have this significant characteristic, very much in common with the aforesaid Robert Burton!

 

·      Given the importance to me of behaviour, I have gained a significant interest in occupational and similar, therapy. My labours in reading and thinking about it, have led to the writing and publication of an article, and to the delivery of various lectures and presentations. At one stage, it was suggested that I give some consideration to studying for a degree in occupational therapy. Finally, in this area, I have been asked to contribute the foreword to a new occupational therapy textbook.


·      I am a member of a lovely book club. We tend to read quite “grown up” books. This, when coupled with consequent discussion and background reading, sounds like learning to me!

 

·      When things that I come across interest me, I tend now, to undertake some research so as to expand my knowledge of them. Since going to Lichfield, I have learned something of its significance as a centre of Mercian Christianity, and of St Chad’s role in that.

 

·      My current screensaver is a rotating series of quite obscure dictionary definitions - how very “Samuel Jonson” of me?!


As you can see, there is still quite a lot of learning that is taking place - and long may it continue.

 

One thing that does upset me a little, is the extent to which memory loss, necessitates a fair bit of re-learning - things that I once knew, but can no longer, remember. That said, re-learning includes the word “learning” - and given my passion for this, what’s not to like ...

 

Anyway - back to Lichfield...

 

It is also, a lovely looking place:

 



And despite being, jolly clever, Samuel Johnson didn’t have his head, completely, in the clouds... 

 

“No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money.”

 

(Samuel Johnson)

 

I kid you, not!

 





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