Worlds of Wonder
I was watching the trailer for the upcoming show: Star Trek: Prodigy which is animated and likely geared towards a younger audience. It made me think of wanting to explore as a child and where, if any place, the average child can safely go to explore. Is there some new horizon out there that children have access to?
When I was young there was a field behind our apartment complex. It was more likely an abandoned warehouse lot/junkyard but we explored it and eventually made it to the other side and later crossed through it with little effort as it lost its wonder. I suppose I always chased wonder as a child. I would walk for miles on the weekend, farther than I walk now, in an effort to bring more of the world into my mental domain. The more I discovered and learned, the more I wanted to discover and learn.
Nowadays I am more purpose driven, even in my exploration. I still do some minor exploring from time to time. I’ve walked almost every block within a certain radius. I plan on purchasing a used bicycle as soon as the weather cools a bit to expand my radius but also to get more exercise. I find that I now need to pair an additional grounded reason to my explorations in order to call up sufficient motivation or at least give it a higher priority. I still very much want to see new things and learn more about this world but I need to work and earn and take care of the ones I love as well so my time is limited in this regard.
As a former teacher I think it is one of the inner mandates of a child to explore and expand their word, to test its limits. If there was a door I wanted to open it. If there was something beyond the horizon I wanted to see it. If there was something new to see and do I wanted to experience it. Does city life still allow that for children or does it always lead to danger and trouble. Maybe that’s also the reason for the rise of video games, tablets, phones and other devices that require screens. They are or at least they can be windows of exploration and portals into the unknown.
