The idea of losing artifacts and stories and heroes makes me think how important documentation is as well as how it’s done. How can we make our mark now for our nieces and nephews as well their nieces and nephews and on and on? How can we keep celebrating how we continue to win and what that means to us now?
I really appreciate this question and will probably write at greater length about this in the future.
We can document as we like, but for that to endure through the generations, the "spark" must be passed on as well. It's important to consistently expose children to the past so that they develop a recognition that theirs is only the latest chapter in a story that's been told for eons. When they develop their own interests, hopefully they'll think to seek out those who went before, whether in art, science, literature, raising children, or just being human.
Anything we do now will probably be lost unless it is valued. That's part of what makes museums so beautiful to me. Nearly every single historical artifact is there because generation after generation, someone found the time and resources to preserve it.
As to celebrating, I think the first thing is to be grateful: to recognize that what we have isn't our entitlement, it's the ... sorry...inheritance of a thousand generations (see clip below) laboring to leave a better world than the one they were brought into. Having a broader perspective on the world and looking beyond quotidian discontents helps to both celebrate our successes, and value the past.
In short, I don't think I can offer any new advice.
"Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence." -Plato
And then there's the thought of what may remain buried too deep for archaeologists to find, ground into the earth by the glaciers of successive ice ages. Our 1/20th has only taken place since the end of the last ice age, after all...
yes thank you, that was incredibly riveting.
Thanks wholeheartedly, Nika. Your post is pure art. Wonderful. Amazing.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Al! I really appreciate it and am glad you enjoyed!
This is quite beautiful… thank you.
The idea of losing artifacts and stories and heroes makes me think how important documentation is as well as how it’s done. How can we make our mark now for our nieces and nephews as well their nieces and nephews and on and on? How can we keep celebrating how we continue to win and what that means to us now?
I really appreciate this question and will probably write at greater length about this in the future.
We can document as we like, but for that to endure through the generations, the "spark" must be passed on as well. It's important to consistently expose children to the past so that they develop a recognition that theirs is only the latest chapter in a story that's been told for eons. When they develop their own interests, hopefully they'll think to seek out those who went before, whether in art, science, literature, raising children, or just being human.
Anything we do now will probably be lost unless it is valued. That's part of what makes museums so beautiful to me. Nearly every single historical artifact is there because generation after generation, someone found the time and resources to preserve it.
As to celebrating, I think the first thing is to be grateful: to recognize that what we have isn't our entitlement, it's the ... sorry...inheritance of a thousand generations (see clip below) laboring to leave a better world than the one they were brought into. Having a broader perspective on the world and looking beyond quotidian discontents helps to both celebrate our successes, and value the past.
In short, I don't think I can offer any new advice.
"Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence." -Plato
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8mYLi3PGOc
And then there's the thought of what may remain buried too deep for archaeologists to find, ground into the earth by the glaciers of successive ice ages. Our 1/20th has only taken place since the end of the last ice age, after all...