The Ocean Squirrel Lesson

I had never seen a squirrel at the ocean until one decided to pose for me recently on rocks that would be covered by the Pacific Ocean at high tide. This sighting has not changed my life, but it does reinforce how much I have yet to witness.

As I age an increasing proportion of my newly acquired knowledge is based on what I see, hear and smell rather than read.

I recall how my two kids as infants used their senses to find their way  in the big brand new world.  Unfortunately, we lose this “infant thirst” to formal education based on rote learning. You are given facts, you repeat them, you pass a test.

I am not discrediting formal education. You need to learn how to read and write, but there usually isn’t much emphasis placed on developing our senses. Those school field trips I used to think were time wasters are critical to student development. I remember the third grade visit to a milk farm in New Jersey. Seeing and smelling a Guernsey up close is still with me.

And to think this thought started with an ocean squirrel.