Truth is something I grew up with as a foundation I could rely on, and build on, without worrying it would crumble beneath me.
Possibly around age 4 or 5, I wondered what it meant to be watched. Perhaps the way a guardian might keep a look out for someone who needs to be cared for, I used to think. I never thought to wonder why I would need this guardian, however. I would always look for it though. Sometimes, I would imagine a peephole at the top of our roof where this guardian would be watching. I never saw anything. This, as an idea, never seemed threatening, so I just let my imagination remain.
Throughout my formative years this stopped being something I thought about. My upbringing involved studying scripture and listening to it almost as background music. It could be equated to a family that appreciates music and enjoys teaching and practicing playing the piano. Around the age of 8, I made friends with girls who believed memorizing scripture was a integral part of their life. I also had a friend and a classmate who had a mom who taught and loved piano. Unbeknownst to me, this created in me an appreciation for how sound moves our soul in spiritual and metaphysically mysterious ways.
Fast forward to postsecondary education. The concept of researching parenting styles and understanding how an individual, outside of societal norms, can metacognitively wonder about his or her potential became an interest of mine. I decided to think about Early Childhood Education as a career, mostly because understanding how my socialization process created or hindered me on a normal curve was a point of curiosity for me.
How early can we remember ourselves wondering about our life? Subsequently, how would we view our socialization up to that point. What influences played a role on who we became? What do we want to continue to allow to be an influence? To what degree can we re-write our future from a potentially rocky beginning? What about redirecting our career path? How do we know if the expectations we have of ourselves are truly what we value. It is difficult to assume that since we work towards them, that they truly are our own values rather than inherited norms.
This question is becoming more and more relevant in a post modern world, because for the most part, life pathways are becoming less defined. Within just the last 10 years, we have learned much about growth mindset and neuroplasticity. How do we learn; what environment is best suited for our brain to readily accept new information? These questions could be asked relentlessly by educators, but why not everyone?
I decided to undertake the task of understanding religion as a phenomena of culture and as a way of wanting to understanding how the universe works. How is it that people in any society develop an affinity for one lens to view the world versus another, and what catalyst can change their mind?
This brings me to myth.
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