But here's the thing,
we do not learn so we can amass knowledge -
we learn to do.

by Valeria Maltoni

I

Tuco studied the blog entry, "Most learning is social," it began.
Ok, that makes sense.
Then it turns to the crucial question for any time,
while we may be motivated to learn continuously
how do we know we're learning the right stuff?

Tuco took a deep breath.
And turned to another blog.

Commitment is about depth.
It's about effort.
It's about passion.
It's about wanting to be in a certain place, and not somewhere else....¹

II

Tuco looked up and away
this led to seeing the ridge line
beyond the trees.

Home was here
and elsewhere too.
But this is where he grew up,
learned passion,
learned effort.

This is a place his mind finds
whenever it wants.
The smells rise, the wind currents flow
and the light settles
with the turning day.

But commitment is best measured not by the time one is willing to give up,
but, more accurately, by the energy one wants to put in,
by how present one is. ¹

III

Presence is everything,
Tuco learned this over and over.
There are wind currents within as well as without.
And the still light settles
within the mind as well as on the hills.

Time is the illusion.
The presence is everything.

Tuco stood up, remounted his horse
and headed for town
and dinner with Arlu.

He is finally ready to place his energy there
next to her
who is always present with him.

He is ready to do.