What I have learned living abroad? P.II

Since I wrote the article "What I have learned living abroad?" almost two months have passed and during this time a lot has happened that has affected me, so I wanted to write and share my new insights.

CONSTANT LEARNING

In a new country, new culture and conditions of constant turbulence, it is impossible to survive without constant learning. By "learning" I do not mean any specific subject or field - but in general, constant learning as a lifestyle and a way of thinking. Learn new languages, traditions, culture, philosophy, art, genetic engineering, religion, psychology, etc., improve knowledge in the professional field and expand it, and experiment with creative hobbies or sports.... Everyone can have their list and their preferences. The main thing is that all these create new neural connections and erase the old ones that we don't need anymore. And this prolongs life naturally and makes the psyche stronger and more stable.

In new conditions, a person learns everything almost from scratch, because in other countries other laws and rules exist, and the experience that was before is of course necessary and very helpful, but a large part of it constantly pulls back and does not allow to develop.

TO UNLEARN

One day there were a lot of people in the office, everyone had different meetings at the same time, so there was a lot of noise in the room. I could only hear my thoughts, as I concentrated on my work, and also jumped from meeting to meeting. And here, amid all this noise and discussion, I heard the strong verb TO UNLEARN, and nothing else. It was as if boiled water had been poured over my head: "Oh, God, that's my word! This is exactly what I've been doing in Germany for more than a year." I began to see more clearly with a focus in my eyes as if the camera lens had been sharpened, and I felt easier as something inside me let go and stopped squeezing.

The ability to unlearn is not just a cool skill, it is a necessary attribute and tool in adaptation and integration, and it is a very important component of further professional and individual development and evolution.

And here's why:

• When a person already has a lot of experience in anything, it begins to put pressure on him subconsciously, makes him/her arrogant, self-confident and stops him/her "Well, you're so cool already", that is, stagnation begins, which always leads to involution or degradation.

• When a person knows a lot, he/she stops seeing new opportunities, ideas, and approaches, because he already knows everything, and this makes him/her not only not innovative, but also not flexible.

• When a person knows a lot, it is very difficult for him/her to try something new, he/she will try to act within the framework of his knowledge, although he/she will assure himself that he/she is using new ideas and approaches.

• Without making room for something new, this new thing cannot come, that's why you have to unlearn.

In Germany, I constantly have to unlearn everything: everyday life experience, professional experience, and even private stuff. This does not mean to completely forget your experience and knowledge, it means to unlearn to tame the ego, close its mouth, and allow yourself to see something new and become more flexible.

These two diametrically opposite terms are interdependent, like yin and yang, and cannot exist without each other, only with the full use of one and the other, harmony and balance occur and life begins to change unexpectedly.

P.S. Although in this photo I smile and look calm, the inner feeling of guilt and pain has not left me since February 24, 2022, not for a minute. I am learning to thank and appreciate life, but I have a deep wound because of the murdered, tortured, raped, and kidnapped Ukrainian women and men. It's hard for me to forgive. It's hard for me to hear russian language, it makes me sick! It is difficult to be in one place with people from that dark land, and there are so many of them everywhere, they have filled the entire planet. It is difficult to accept the genocide of the Ukrainian people. Constant torment that I'm in a safe place and someone is not, that my psyche couldn't bear it and I fled, that I'm probably not doing enough while I'm here. And then I look at the people who were freed from captivity and in some magic way returned to their native land, and my heart breaks, but also rejoices that we have such bright and kind people who, after going through torture, were still able to remain People, emitting light, love, and generosity.

May 7, 2023.