If we learn, 

but don’t practice, 

we’ll end up forgetting.

Early early on, we learned an invaluable lesson: if we don’t put our keys in a designated place, we’re doomed to be perpetually searching for them. This turns frantic when our appointment was five minutes ago.

And so, whether at home, work, or running errands, keys now have their place. On the hook by the door, in our bag, our pocket. Essentially, we have learned that we don’t enjoy looking for our keys. To know where on earth (literally) they will be, we found a logical place for them. We then made it a habit to place them in “their” place. 

If we had not acted on the fact that we dislike losing our keys—had not put what we learned into practice—those missing keys would still be a problem.

Anything we learn related to good behavior needs to be put into practice and repeated until it becomes a habit. Whether it be finding our keys, cultivating to be a better person, or chanting the buddha-name.