Levels

We are used to degrees. Our school years are based on numbered degrees. We live and breathe different steps and thresholds. We have to qualify and learn the lessons before we are approved to achieve the goal we are seeking. The same applies to life as well; the scale is different and we can keep trying as many times as needed. Everybody's learning curve and pace is unique. Still, the goal is ultimately the same in each level— some just jump from one level to another faster than others.

Our lifelong learning system is set up a bit differently than the one we are used to in our own educational systems. Here we have to try first and the reward or penalty is given later on. The appraisal is not instantaneous, which makes learning more difficult. This means that we are not quite following the cause-reason causality anymore. Things seem to happen for no particular reason or purpose. This causes confusion, which is the real acid test. If we are to learn something, it has to be verified in all the circumstances—otherwise it would be just pure chance and not a conscious act of will. Learning should not be based on lottery, should it?

Our level is preparation for the following ones. We get bits and pieces of the forthcoming concepts but proportioned for our own development and ability to handle them. These concepts are spread around the world in various shapes and forms in a way that we run into them everywhere. We only have to keep our eyes open and be ready to receive and notice them. Some of them are more obvious and others are hidden more carefully. Still, we recognize them and can put them into the bigger picture like a piece in a big puzzle. Gradually, we get to know more pieces and start to get a feeling of the overall concept. In tiny steps we improve our performance and learn some important lessons—finally they turn into a part of our everyday life and existence. Then we are ready for other lessons.

Like when we were in school, we learn the alphabet and practice it so we can communicate. After a while of usage, we start to ignore the letters as such and focus purely on the message they carry. Often, we just forget that not everything we say or mean can be expressed in words. Also, some precise words do not necessarily mean that the very concept they express is as exact. Similarly, we express and learn some concepts and ideas derived from the next levels. They are not that accurate or entire—they can be only described with the alphabet and illustrations from our world. We need to translate and use allegories. Every translation and derivation also means that some information is lost in the process. The meaning is not as exact anymore and things can get confused and imprecise along the way. Therefore, the reflection of the original source is not the original but simply its representation or replica. Often, we take these copies as originals and get messed up in our mind. This creates a lot of confusion, agony, and misinterpretation. Still, we have to use these more-or-less precise concepts in order to learn our lessons. They are like toys and fairytales for children, harmless but they still serve a purpose—they are meant for education and learning. Like smaller children who are not yet allowed real items, similarly we are given a nice sandbox in which to practice things. Yet it seems that playing in the sandbox and getting involved with the concepts we are learning drives most of us off the topic for way too many moments.

Some of us get so carried away to play the game and form our sand houses and lives so that anything else is secondary. Big facades are torn down and sand grains thrown into other people's eyes are not that uncommon. A few of us are less concerned with making temporary monuments than gaining insight and knowledge for the more permanent foundations. These types of people are harder to find and they cannot be shaped like sand cakes. The tricky part is that we are given enough to make us masters at our level but the degree test is very hard and objective. The bar is high and it takes a relatively long time to pass the test. Eventually everybody will get promoted, but some are more ambitious in making progress than others. And a few have had enough of the sand games and want to move on. Fortunately, there is no limit to how many cakes we have to bake. Only the results count. And the weighting in the test is equal—for all of us. See you around!