When I get to the end of my life, hopefully very far from now, I will not look back and think about my job or how much money I made. I will not reminisce about my time spent at my desk doing someone else’s work. I will not take with me the things that I bought, I will not keep the likes I received on Instagram. I will not reflect on the judgment of strangers.
Is life exactly where you want it to be at this very moment?
Easier to answer for some than for others. I can tell you, with only two twitches of my eye, that mine is not. Recently, I’ve accepted this fact with open arms. Not resigned or surrendered – I think that’s an important distinction to make. I’ve embraced it. I swear this will make sense, just let me get there.
In a past life, I think I was a pioneer or an astronaut. While there is admittedly something intimidating about the unknown, there also resides something inviting. A pull for those with a curious mind or a penchant for risk. Perhaps it is simply born of restlessness and boredom, perhaps it’s something more innate. So much of what we take granted every day can be attributed to discovery. It’s the answers scientists strive for, the uncharted destinations early settlers dream about, the moment you and a stranger find out you have something in common.
5th grade science camp. Laying on the top bunk of a bed, fiddling with one of those yellow disposable cameras in a musty and cramped cabin. It smells like sweat and Axe Body Spray (to this day I don’t know which is worse). We are summoned to what was the equivalent of a mess hall for a mountain dinner; soup, bread, potatoes. It’s skit night. I grew up a very shy kid but my best friend and I were in the same group and our skit was about breaking out of normal life and becoming rock stars. We took the stage and our song began to play. Maybe it was being away from the confines of the school, maybe it was the thin mountain air. But that was the first time in my life I remember letting loose.
I believe the purpose of education is to open the minds of those receptive to knowledge. To arm individuals with the information necessary to form their own beliefs and opinions. To gain perspective and understanding of the world in which we live.
Though there are different facets of intelligence (social, emotional, etc.), in a traditional sense I believe an educated person is someone who acts on logic. Someone who can see multiple points of view. An educated person spends time collecting facts before forming judgments or opinions.
I work in a dull office. In the break room we have a TV mounted on the wall that’s constantly displaying one of those screensaver slideshows of mountains and lakes. Lately I’ve been lingering on my water breaks. I find myself receiving much more nourishment from the images on screen than I get from the water cooler.
Copyright 2018 The Uncharted Heart
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