A Thousand Words on Learning

One of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child is the lifelong love of learning. This insatiable curiosity will take them much further than any physical ability or appearance. Their knowledge will expand and grow. They will ask better questions and think more deeply. They will be more open to the experiences of others and will cherish true diversity. They will develop empathy; a trait often overlooked and devalued in our world.

My parents gave me such a gift. From my mother, I received a love of reading. If I didn’t know something, I was encouraged to research and discover the answer for myself. If I needed to escape, a book provided a retreat. If I needed expression and anchor points for an imagination bigger than what I perceived, I was encouraged to find people I could relate to in pages of books we owned or checked out from the library.

From my father, I was tasked with learning about the outside world. Having served in the Vietnam War, my dad was a kid from the impossibly small town of Manitou, Oklahoma. Joining the Navy afforded him an opportunity to see ports of call in countries throughout the Pacific. In distant lands, he experienced cultures, customs, and people foreign to those of his home town. This experience would shape and mold him into the man he is today. Debates with my dad at the kitchen table are fun because there has always been a push to…