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morfe

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Re: Babies '!!!!' and the land

Jul 31, 2003, 16:47

"They don't though do they?!!!! It's just 'there' until someone tells 'em how ace it is or they start thinking 'how did this all get here then?'"

I don't believe that children don't find wonder until they start thinking 'how did this get there'. I think adults can very easily 'educate' the wonder OUT of children. But in acknowledgement of Kammer's point, I do believe that each individual human being has 'tendencies' which are little or nothing to do with it's parents. Subjectively, I as a boy, would spend hours watching ants go about thier business, and days walking the hedgerows and woods, always in wonder at the life and cycles, the death and the growth, and of course, where I, myself, fitted in the scheme. Whereas my brother showed not a jot of interest at the same age, he was more interested in buttons, technology etc. Thing is, before we (culturally) identified the natural world as 'outside', we carried it inside of ourselves, as a continuum, a dependency recognised and respected, rather than just 'acknowledged'. And anyone who has taken the option of living away from the city cannot fail to perceptibly change, as the outside again becomes inside, and the doors of perception become not so firmly bolted?

I believe that we cannot hope to feel a part of something we deny being a part of, and education is subliminal. In the Early 1990's , I volunteered as a leader for the Woodcraft Folk, helping give children from run down inner city areas experience life in the natural world. This wasn't a prescriptive education, we all just 'went camping', and the adults supervised the children, whilst the children got a chance to make group decisions, cook, build, make campfires, and be part of a small recreational community. We didn't expect an epiphany, but what I did see, was children learning about themselves, nature became both a medium and an educator. Each child there had a 'sacred space' in our small camp, a tiny valley, miles away from the burnt out cars and old mattresses, and the smell of factories. That to me is sacred, it's simplicity makes it moreso.

In reply to:
Babies '!!!!' and the land (Moth)

Replies:
Re: Babies '!!!!' and the land (Shestu)
Re: Babies '!!!!' and the land (Moth)

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