Opinion
 

Adults, look to kids for fresh point of view

by Donald LeGrand

The stars have fascinated people for ages. Somehow something deeply magnificent within us resonates at the sight of the night's spectacle. I could not imagine a painting more wondrous than the telescopic visions made manifest through the many observatories and telescopes. And why are we here? Certainly we are not here purely to gaze at the night sky. And yet the night sky reminds us that more exists than what we recognize.

We live in an ocean of wonder, yet we don't usually recognize the mystery surrounding us. It's astonishing to see how precise, down to the tiniest atom, the cosmos is. Yet we often lose sight of purpose in our desperation to survive. We lose what it means to be a child and wonder at everything.

Science itself is filled with a little bit of quasi-superstition -- probability, chaos and luck. People of science get so caught up in their beliefs that they fail to apply the rigorousness, openness, experimental procedure and the deep thirst to answer whatever initiated their first encounters into science.

People simply cannot rely on hope and faith alone. Hope and faith did not get the first man on the moon. Humanity longed to give form to its dream. Individual men and women took daily action to give that dream reality. Those men and women inspired generations.

Inspiration cannot be measured purely in dollars and cents, although everyone's productivity is augmented in different ways. Who has ever been inspired to hate, hurt or trick one another? Inspiration brings love, the blossoming of wisdom and brings us closer to the invisible heavens.

Science, religion, philosophy, the arts and such have fueled generations, and are a part of the reason such a large population is sustainable. Yet we must consider the limitations such mediums of expression and inspiration place on us. Science limits itself to a study of physical phenomena. It can never prove or disprove anything beyond its scope. Yet to be awake is to set aside limitations and give oneself to the moment.

Children love, and often fight, to stay awake. We are often unable to accomplish the task at hand and fulfill our most heartfelt longings because we too often forget what we are trying to do. We do not feel confident enough to stop procrastinating, and simply stop acting according to the script of our unexamined beliefs.

LeGrand, an editorial writer for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at picador@ev1.net.