Home
This morning, while at the gym, I was listening to a rebroadcast of an On Being Podcast of October 1, 2015 which featured a conversation between Krista Tippett, the host and Mary Catherine Bateson, linguist and anthropologist as well as the daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson both esteemed anthropologists . As usual, it is not my intention to duplicate the podcast. I urge the reader of this blog to listen to or read the transcript of this conversation.
Dr Bateson tickled my memory and my thoughts many times throughout the conversation, but I want to focus on one statement she made which strongly resonated with me, “Home is creating an environment where learning can take place.” The reason the statements resonated with me was that I have often said that good friends tickle my heart and my mind meaning, of course, that they love me unconditionally and they challenge me to think. For me the definition of thinking involves examining an idea or a situation for all angles asking such questions as: How did I come to believe an opinion about some object or situation? What is the scientific evidence?
For example, I heard someone on the radio this morning allude to a bird which can fly 100 mph. I could not wait to fact check this statement. If various sites on the internet, including staff at Stanford University, are to be believed, the Peregrine Falcon can reach swooping speeds of up to 200 mph. Ducks can fly 60 mph per hour or faster.
If one attends to the media one often hears the term fake news. For some years now there have been professionals who fact check the statements of politicians and other public figures. Naturally one has to be careful to check the methods and data fact checkers use to fact check.
If one is living in an unsafe dwelling it is often because someone else in the dwelling is threatened by information or even opinions which differs from theirs. Their self-esteem may be rooted in the illusion or delusion that they know what is right or wrong for themselves and everyone else in that dwelling. Their attachments to their version may be rooted in fear of being rejected by other people or the God of their understanding. The ultimate rejection is being thrown into hell for eternity. Learning is not necessary or possible on many subjects because one cannot argue with God or those in religious texts who are believed to have had the equivalent of a direct line to the God of their understanding.
If one is living in such a home the daily objective is survival and not learning. Children living in unsafe homes often do poorly In school because they are taught to not question adults and they are so fearful they cannot focus. They may learn survival techniques, but they are not learning how to think.
On this first day of 2021 I have been thinking a lot about the importance of having a home; of living in a space and associating with people who are healthy enough to be open to learning. A safe home is more of an atmosphere than a specific place. One can feel at home in the world if one knows that one is loved and one in which it is safe to fact check what one observes and what one reads or hears. Margaret Mead, Gregory Bateson, their daughter and other social scientists are committed to observing with an open mind and fact checking their fact checking; They may have opinions, but they are not threated by new data which contradicts previous data.
A safe home in one in which is not only physically and emotionally safe but one which allows one to have sufficient nutrition, clean water, heat, access to health care and the other basics for the brain to function.
I wonder what would happen if our goal in 2021 was to work towards creating a sense of home in individual dwellings, communities, states and the nation for all people regardless of background, so called class, the pigment of one’s skin, gender, sexual orientation, physical and intellectual ableness, religion or political affiliation?
In a novel I am reading the chief character was taught by her grandfather to envision her goal or dream until it became manifest reality. Perhaps we could open to envisioning this expanded version of home until it becomes manifest reality.
Written January 1, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
This morning, while at the gym, I was listening to a rebroadcast of an On Being Podcast of October 1, 2015 which featured a conversation between Krista Tippett, the host and Mary Catherine Bateson, linguist and anthropologist as well as the daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson both esteemed anthropologists . As usual, it is not my intention to duplicate the podcast. I urge the reader of this blog to listen to or read the transcript of this conversation.
Dr Bateson tickled my memory and my thoughts many times throughout the conversation, but I want to focus on one statement she made which strongly resonated with me, “Home is creating an environment where learning can take place.” The reason the statements resonated with me was that I have often said that good friends tickle my heart and my mind meaning, of course, that they love me unconditionally and they challenge me to think. For me the definition of thinking involves examining an idea or a situation for all angles asking such questions as: How did I come to believe an opinion about some object or situation? What is the scientific evidence?
For example, I heard someone on the radio this morning allude to a bird which can fly 100 mph. I could not wait to fact check this statement. If various sites on the internet, including staff at Stanford University, are to be believed, the Peregrine Falcon can reach swooping speeds of up to 200 mph. Ducks can fly 60 mph per hour or faster.
If one attends to the media one often hears the term fake news. For some years now there have been professionals who fact check the statements of politicians and other public figures. Naturally one has to be careful to check the methods and data fact checkers use to fact check.
If one is living in an unsafe dwelling it is often because someone else in the dwelling is threatened by information or even opinions which differs from theirs. Their self-esteem may be rooted in the illusion or delusion that they know what is right or wrong for themselves and everyone else in that dwelling. Their attachments to their version may be rooted in fear of being rejected by other people or the God of their understanding. The ultimate rejection is being thrown into hell for eternity. Learning is not necessary or possible on many subjects because one cannot argue with God or those in religious texts who are believed to have had the equivalent of a direct line to the God of their understanding.
If one is living in such a home the daily objective is survival and not learning. Children living in unsafe homes often do poorly In school because they are taught to not question adults and they are so fearful they cannot focus. They may learn survival techniques, but they are not learning how to think.
On this first day of 2021 I have been thinking a lot about the importance of having a home; of living in a space and associating with people who are healthy enough to be open to learning. A safe home is more of an atmosphere than a specific place. One can feel at home in the world if one knows that one is loved and one in which it is safe to fact check what one observes and what one reads or hears. Margaret Mead, Gregory Bateson, their daughter and other social scientists are committed to observing with an open mind and fact checking their fact checking; They may have opinions, but they are not threated by new data which contradicts previous data.
A safe home in one in which is not only physically and emotionally safe but one which allows one to have sufficient nutrition, clean water, heat, access to health care and the other basics for the brain to function.
I wonder what would happen if our goal in 2021 was to work towards creating a sense of home in individual dwellings, communities, states and the nation for all people regardless of background, so called class, the pigment of one’s skin, gender, sexual orientation, physical and intellectual ableness, religion or political affiliation?
In a novel I am reading the chief character was taught by her grandfather to envision her goal or dream until it became manifest reality. Perhaps we could open to envisioning this expanded version of home until it becomes manifest reality.
Written January 1, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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