Miles to go Before My Wonder
It is the mystical awe that has guided me toward the field of anthropology. I tend to wonder, what makes us tick as a civilization. What keeps us going? What is it that creates our drive to understand? And, why must we have verification of our existence?
The short answer is twofold, at the least. First, is the conscious mind, ever since the words: I think, therefore I am, were placed in our lexicon, it has given us, the western-American culture, the how to relate to the outside world in a ‘civilized manner’ of logic and preparation of how to act toward one another. And, second is the joy of raising our children in the modern world and seeing it through their eyes.
I have had a hand in raising my sisters, nephews, nieces, and invariably the children, in part, of the women I have dated throughout the years (for a single man in these ‘modern times,’ to find a single woman without a child would be like finding the “Virgin-Mary,” still being a virgin after The Birth). Truly, the joy of seeing the world through simplicity of one’s children can be quite relaxing.
At any rate, I came across a column in my local paper, The Denver Post, titled Awaiting—Still a Renaissance of Wonder—by Michael Mazenko (link here). He was a guest commentator, a high school English teacher, from one of our local high school, here in the Denver metropolitan area. In his editorial, he expressed a kernel of thought, a sentiment of one, in which, I had not only pondered but also understood and wished for.
This is what I mean: as I am a non-traditional student; meaning that I am student attending college over the age (ahem) thirty-five. I have seen these blank stares that he refers to: the non-critical thinking; the self-involved youth of what about me; and, the lack of focus and purpose that is reflected in his students’ lack of wonder that he describes.
By the time they reach his high school English class, he implies, the mystical, the wonder, the naivety of discovery is in full retreat and youthful certainty has begun to set in by high school—if not outright cynicism. Mazenko’s reverie is in regard to his children; viewing the world of wonder through their eyes, answers, in part, the questions I speculated on earlier.
What keeps us going? Answer—the journey. What is it that creates our drive to understand? Answer—our children, in that, we seek for them a better way of life. And, I concur with Michael Mazenko, in that, one path to wonder is through our children eyes. I have seen it in my sisters; nieces, nephews—and my relationships. It is this wonder which help us write our personal narrative for the world to see and acknowledge. This is to confirm our own validation within ourselves—and to the world. It is the finding of our own narratives, within the journey, the search, the quest, which validates our existence.
It is unfortunate that our youth of America (high school students in particular) have virtually lost the feeling of the mystical awe of discovery. And, therefore, in searching for their personal narrative—their coming of age—has lost their sense of magic; which, also in part, is the necessary for the drive to understand.
And, we, as a society, are raising a citizenry of youth that not only lack the sense of wonder, but compliant cynics. But that is a discussion for another time—after all, it just another day in paradise, in which we have “miles to go before we sleep…” to dream, to ponder, and to wonder.
The short answer is twofold, at the least. First, is the conscious mind, ever since the words: I think, therefore I am, were placed in our lexicon, it has given us, the western-American culture, the how to relate to the outside world in a ‘civilized manner’ of logic and preparation of how to act toward one another. And, second is the joy of raising our children in the modern world and seeing it through their eyes.
I have had a hand in raising my sisters, nephews, nieces, and invariably the children, in part, of the women I have dated throughout the years (for a single man in these ‘modern times,’ to find a single woman without a child would be like finding the “Virgin-Mary,” still being a virgin after The Birth). Truly, the joy of seeing the world through simplicity of one’s children can be quite relaxing.
At any rate, I came across a column in my local paper, The Denver Post, titled Awaiting—Still a Renaissance of Wonder—by Michael Mazenko (link here). He was a guest commentator, a high school English teacher, from one of our local high school, here in the Denver metropolitan area. In his editorial, he expressed a kernel of thought, a sentiment of one, in which, I had not only pondered but also understood and wished for.
This is what I mean: as I am a non-traditional student; meaning that I am student attending college over the age (ahem) thirty-five. I have seen these blank stares that he refers to: the non-critical thinking; the self-involved youth of what about me; and, the lack of focus and purpose that is reflected in his students’ lack of wonder that he describes.
By the time they reach his high school English class, he implies, the mystical, the wonder, the naivety of discovery is in full retreat and youthful certainty has begun to set in by high school—if not outright cynicism. Mazenko’s reverie is in regard to his children; viewing the world of wonder through their eyes, answers, in part, the questions I speculated on earlier.
What keeps us going? Answer—the journey. What is it that creates our drive to understand? Answer—our children, in that, we seek for them a better way of life. And, I concur with Michael Mazenko, in that, one path to wonder is through our children eyes. I have seen it in my sisters; nieces, nephews—and my relationships. It is this wonder which help us write our personal narrative for the world to see and acknowledge. This is to confirm our own validation within ourselves—and to the world. It is the finding of our own narratives, within the journey, the search, the quest, which validates our existence.
It is unfortunate that our youth of America (high school students in particular) have virtually lost the feeling of the mystical awe of discovery. And, therefore, in searching for their personal narrative—their coming of age—has lost their sense of magic; which, also in part, is the necessary for the drive to understand.
And, we, as a society, are raising a citizenry of youth that not only lack the sense of wonder, but compliant cynics. But that is a discussion for another time—after all, it just another day in paradise, in which we have “miles to go before we sleep…” to dream, to ponder, and to wonder.
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