I'm not just talking about formal education (I possess four post-secondary degrees and several certifications!), but informal learning as well. Learning should develop new skills. A lifetime commitment to education and learning yields stackable skills to overcoming any limiting beliefs hindering the realization of hopes and dreams.
I've been blessed with an immediate family unwilling to leave my assumptions about people and the world unchallenged. My wife is a social worker by training and profession and exhibits a deep belief in every person's value and potential. My daughters, a fashion designer and an early childhood educator, help me see beauty and hope in the world.
I believe, at the very core of my being, that God desires all creation to live in peace and experience the deep interconnectedness of life itself. Practices like silence, meditation, sacred reading of Scripture, and prayer orient my daily posture in the world. From this posture I am more free to love deeply, listen intently, and care genuinely as an expression of my faith.
For me, faith is not a personal project. While it is deeply personal, I believe our interconnectedness finds expression in our neighborhoods, schools, and churches. It is in those places where we invest our energy and expend our hope removing obstacles for all of God's creation to flourish and thrive.