Intellectuelle

"but what really makes us feel good is to learn something...There is joy in understanding something new from a new perspective, and in the creative sparks that come from engaged discussion."
Very well stated. I've been exploring this recently and in depth with a friend as I come to grips with myself as this kind of person, who loves to learn and understand and make connections between things I learn.

I was just laughing remembering a conversation I had with my counselor. I'm trying to recover from burnout, and as a single Mom with four children, let's just say it's not easy. Meals are one of the "incessant demands" that most bogs me down. My counselor was helping me think through strategies for dealing with this, and he asked me if there had ever been a time that I really really enjoyed cooking. I thought and began to tell him about that time in my life. And after he listened a while, he said, "It wasn't cooking or meal preparation you liked so much back then. It was learning about cooking and foods and new recipes that was so exciting and energizing to you." He was absolutely right.