The beginner's mind

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WE ARE intrigued by the Zen concept of a beginner's mind--one that still is open to the dance of imagination in the land of innocence and possibility. This dance is one that most adults must work hard to retain in a world that values the pursuit of concrete knowledge. Far too many of us forget our unique, childlike ability to ask "Why?" In our work with young people, we have observed that, around the time children enter fourth grade, adults begin to instill in them a focus of what to think, rather than how to think. As early as 1933, the conservationist and author Aldo Leopold put his finger on the beginnings of this trend when he wrote, "To build a better motor, we tap the uttermost powers of the human brain; to build a better countryside, we throw dice."

We consider a three-year-old's "Why?" to be charming and developmentally appropriate but, all too often, a 10-year-old's "Why?" is met with "That's just how it is." While adults continue creating social and environmental problems (Leopold's dice throwing), these same young people will be asked to solve those problems increasingly are incapable so ourselves.

Without the knowledge, skills, and competencies to deal with social and environmental issues creatively, no society has a viable context within which to greet the children it brings into the world--much less nurture them. If we want to change our world for the better, we must tap into the creative and positive energy of young people. Over and over again, we have seen that it is children who teach their parents and other elders about the components of sustainability--not the other way around. The middle school and high school years present a critical developmental opportunity because, well into adolescence and early adulthood, the neural connections of a young person's brain literally are being "hardwired" in terms of how youth think about themselves, and their relationships, choices, and decisions.

Whether an educator, youth worker, or other type of story weaver, anyone committed to giving young people a strong, powerful, positive voice--one that is robust and hopeful enough to rally kindred spirits of all ages--is unique and critical to the sustainability of our planet.

A world of hurry and worry

Adults are the trustees of young people's futures. Yet, we rarely ask our youth what they want us to leave them as our legacy, nor do we always listen when they try to share their ideas about real-life issues--beyond the typical daily routine--in the realm of public dialogue. Why is this? Because, collectively, we often are too busy to attend to young people's intuitive wisdom, which we also once had as children, but since have lost in today's competitive "hurry-worry" world of materialism, clashing ideologies, and attempts to control circumstances. The notion of fairness and human dignity, however, demands of us one of our scarcest resources--our willingness to listen to one another. Not listening invalidates the feelings-and very existence--of another person, an all-too-frequent experience shared by young people. The nation's youth need a positive foundation upon which to empower them to take ownership of their world and create an environment that nurtures these assets. Mentors must help young people view the world through the lens of their own strengths (upon which other strengths can be built), rather than simply overwhelming them with a litany of problems they must overcome.

Our children one day will become local, national, and international leaders. Many of us still may be around when that time arrives. The better our young people are at finding positive, creative, and sustainable ways of working, playing, and being together, the more they truly will be able to change the world. Teaching kids to change the world sounds like a lofty ambition; we recognize that. On the other hand, change happens all around us, every day, whether or not we do anything about it. Thus, we have a choice: we can "become the change [we] want to see in the world" (as India's Mahatma Gandhi encouraged), or we simply can react to change as it occurs. Educators' influence on young people--in a formal or informal setting--often is second only to that of family. These individuals are in a remarkable position to show to day's youth how to become powerful and positive agents of change throughout their lives.

Everything--living creatures, plants, air, water, inanimate objects, time, space--exists in relationship to everything else. Each action that a teacher and his or her students take is like dropping a pebble into a quiet pool of water. Just as each pebble produces a unique set of ripples--a series of changes, really--so does each child and adult offer a unique gift to the world, one that is critical to the whole. Each gift is different and valuable in its service to the Earth and its inhabitants--and what is true of individual humans also is true of all cultures and societies. Regardless of how strongly we strive for autonomy, each life, culture, and society is interdependent. Each also has its own excellence and cannot be compared justly to another. Differences among creatures, cultures, and societies are just that--differences.