There is a Japanese saying: ‘Discover something new every day, even if it be a new method of threading a needle.’ This saying is based on nature. According to nature, everyone should develop his mind. Intellectual development is a continuous process that goes on day and night.

The universe of facts is replete with points of interest. If you are an awakened person, if have a curious mind, and you are sensitive about your learning, then it is quite possible that every experience, every observation will teach you a new lesson. Each time you cogitate, you will be able to discover a new idea.

Discovery is food for the mind, just as physical items are food for the body. When we take lunch or breakfast, we take physical food and thus we energize our bodies. Similar inputs are required for intellectual health. We must be so conscious about this fact that we should derive something new from every experience. It all depends upon our intellectual awakening. If you are an intellectually awakened person, then it is quite possible to extract new things from your observations every day and night.

Without this daily discovery, your mind will become so dull that you will be just like an animal. Ostensibly, you will appear to be a human being, but in fact, you will be something of a lesser being altogether.

Animals need physical food, but they have no need of intellectual nourishment. It is in the nature of man, however, to seek intellectual stimulation. Therefore, he must discover new things every day. This habit makes one creative—and only a creative person can achieve great things in life.

Source: Leading A Spiritual Life