Tomorrow, on Earth Day, I will do a full run down of great organizations doing amazing work, and more resources to keep exploring.
Today, I’m continuing to build up to the Earth Day ‘invest in our planet’ theme by sharing an ‘invest in knowledge’ moment! (Also see yesterday’s ‘invest in community’ post, and the day before - an ‘invest in you’ post.)
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There are sooooo many angles to look at in terms of how to judge, consume, and use information so that it becomes part of our ‘knowledge’. There are far too many aspects to discuss here (though I hope to break it down across many future posts - it’s a critical aspect of how we learn, grow, and engage), but for today, I’m going to base these comments on the following:
Knowledge is not an end point, it’s a pathway. And in order to follow that path, we generally have to enjoy walking it.
In fact, I have a confession. I didn’t get into climate change to save the planet. There! I said it! Yep, I was not motivated by a sense of responsibility or of making an impact, or helping nature or my fellow humans. I was simply interested.
I studied geography as an undergrad. I was fascinated by the story of landscape and how it was shaped (which turns out to have a lot to do with climate). Even my PhD was more about how much of the past climate was determined by small changes in the sun and when humans started to surpass that influence. I wasn’t really thinking of my work as something that could or should influence policy or behavior. But then it turned into a global crisis and suddenly my knowledge was handy. Who knew.
So, I’d like you to consider one question:
What do you want to know more about? What intrigues you and draws you in?
There are lots of sources of information that make us mad, scared, outraged even. Those can make us rise up to act, and play an important part of building awareness around issues.
However, rarely does that sort of information ‘fulfill’ us. And often, it isn’t a sustainable source - we get burned out, disheartened, and sometimes end up turning away. Yet, there are so many ways of getting informed on different issues that don’t have to start with listening to sources whose job it is to hook our attention, or whose intention it is to scare us into action (even when it’s well-intentioned fear.)
Learning can (and often should in my opinion) be light, and grounded in curiosity, not fear, nor even a sense of responsibility. Some of my favorite authors teach me and make me laugh in the same sentence. And they almost always make me want to know more.
For example, one of my favorite horticultural books is: The Drunken Botanist, by Amy Stuart. I learned a ton about how apples grow that I had no idea about (and also how many drinks you can make with them! Bonus!)
The book ‘Think Again’ by Adam Grant is also a favorite of mine. Funny examples, cartoons, and stories illustrate a serious point about how we are often too certain of what we think we know.
Magazines like National Geographic and the Smithsonian offer beautiful imagery of the world as we learn alongside talented explorers, scientists, and photographers. For example, check out this article about ancient humans and climate.
And I have loved having a subscription to Masterclass for the last couple of years. From composting, to baking bread, and from leadership to investigative journalism, there is a ton you can dip in and out of. The cool thing about that platform (and magazines) is that you can be exposed to new things you didn’t know you wanted to know more about.
This is the opposite of many social media platforms that tend to follow algorithms that give you more of what you’ve already shown interest in. They’re designed to keep you hooked, but that isn’t, in my mind, going to lead to being better informed. It can be entertaining, and that’s fine, but it’s not the same as being able to follow a pathway towards even more interesting things.
So, consider not what you think you ought to know more about this week, but what you want to know more about. What makes you excited to see or hear or read more? What is just flat out interesting?
Go have fun developing some knowledge on that. You never know where it might lead.
“We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and the more we gain, the more is our desire; the more we see, the more we are capable of seeing.”
Love this... As kids we are encouraged to learn about all kinds of things, never knowing what might strike a fancy - or lead to a fulfilling career. As adults, we don’t always give ourselves permission to be so indulgent.
Focusing on the tyranny of our to-do list, we tend to stay practical. Efficient. And somewhat ordinary in the few moments of play or exploration we may allow ourselves.
Thank you for the reminder. It’s not only pure joy to wander down a road I’ve never been on before, I never know what cool discovery lies right around the bend.