Mind Mapping Light

The front porch is a nice spot to settle in to the day. This morning's light was especially comfortable on this August 9th, 2009 (see photograph). The Sabbath. A day to contemplate and sense what is around you. The geese rise to the air in the distance honking all the way and filling our valley with their unique sound. I watched as they communicated their timeless act of gathering into the air. Further off though in our very human lens on the world there are stories and photographs of challenge and tragedies across the world. A Sabbath there too, but in a reflection of biological play of ebbs and flows of time there is the unsettling wonder of it all. Disconcerting in the providential plot of things and how they have been, and of now, and of what they will be.

Yesterday I picked up an old article by Bill Benson that he had written in the computer publication, Byte. This was way back when (1985) and as a consequence of what the author, Jerry Pournelle, had written about the Macintosh at that time. Bill essentially said that visual thinking goes hand in hand with creativity. He cited Albert Einstein and said that Albert thought in images, "...not words or even mathematical symbols Albert aside, there probably is some merit in looking at how we 'interact' with what is around us.
The ability of our children to perceive, or maybe discern, what is around us relates to what each of us teach our children, but especially in how our educational system approaches and implements the act of conveying what each of our teachers know to their students. Probably the art of teaching is a non-linear process albeit knowledge surely is, but there are tools out there that might facilitate this. Again, Bill Benson mentions this in his article, but I especially appreciate mind mapping. I like it because I can take my words and really translate them into images. I could go on about this, but I will leave it there. There are a number of tools out there, for business, but also for teachers. Recommended.

Finally, back to where I started out this post is that looking at the morning light is the start of perceiving what is in that light. And yes, perhaps your chair is not quite so comfortable as my front porch, but my first 18 or so years were spent in and around the city too so I know, you can find greenscapes just about wherever you look no matter where you are. Challenging the world can begin with recognizing that there is a story to tell closer than you think.

Footnote: The best, and I mean the best, computer magazine ever was Byte. Hats off to Tom, Jerry and many others. For those who were fans, and I was one, this publication approached legendary levels. I wish it would return...Ojala.