Life's learning curve

This morning I set out to walk, very slowly, because my foot and my toe were both aching and tender.  Both were broken in my distant past.  It was cold. I wore my parka, a very warm woolen hat, gloves, scarf and hood latched securely over all. 

As I walked, I noticed that my aches seemed to lessen over time, a pretty long time, but still they were better.  Then, in the golden glow of a beautiful but very cold day I began to step outside my body and set my mind free.

I wondered if we are all the same?  If the learning curve is just lower and longer for most of us?  We have to learn the same lessons, but each in his or her own way.

The earth worm is satisfied to live in the darkness of the earth, fearing the light because it could dry him out in the wrong places.  The toad sits in the shade knowing that eventually food will fly by and all he needs to do is stick out his tongue and lap it up.  But the unicorn has learned to fly free, to escape the bounds of earth and even reality.

Maybe unicorns started out as earthworms, but were willing to go the extra mile to find the right conditions, the place and food and exercise that allowed him to morph into his best self and maybe we can all do that given enough time.

The question is:  how much time will it take?  More to the point, how long will it take me to learn that what I eat, how I move, how much I sleep, how much I read and study and how present I am, all change who I am?