blogcutter

In the midst of a pandemic, are we all becoming shadows or virtual versions of our former selves?

Let's hope not! But I think a lot of the uproar about mental health comes down to the fact that life doesn't feel real any more. We don't feel we can be our authentic selves. We're always second-guessing ourselves, looking over our shoulders, unsure of what we can or cannot do, of what we may or may not do. We've lost our road-maps and our guidebooks for life as we thought we knew it. The threat of climate change and the twice-yearly clock-changing also make it difficult to gain and keep our bearings.

Humans are not machines or computers, even though we are living so much of our lives online at the moment. We shouldn't let our human qualities of imagination, judgement, critical thinking and humanitarianism - or even some of the more negatively perceived human qualities - atrophy, just because we have to do a lot of things in ways the machine can "interpret" or at least respond to.

I was encouraged to read this opinion piece in yesterday's paper, urging students and their families not to discount the value of a broad, liberal arts education:

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/dolansky-why-the-humanities-are-a-good-choice-for-university-bound-students

Or this curriculum document out of Wales, geared to learners at all levels, where I learned a new word which beautifully expresses the concept I think is lacking in our lives at the moment - cynefin:

https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales/humanities/

The learn.org site draws a distinction, perhaps rather arbitrary, between "humanities", focusing on our history and human heritage as opposed to "humanistic studies", which it sees as envisioning the future:

https://learn.org/directory/category/Humanities_and_Liberal_Arts/General_Liberal_Arts_and_Humanities/Humanities_and_Humanistic_Studies.html

Then there's "humanism" which also seems to mean different things to different people. For some, it's an alternative to faith, a belief that yes, this (life here on earth) IS all there is, and it's up to us to make the most of it and build a better world together. As an example, here's the UK Humanists' site:

https://humanism.org.uk/about/

I still love that word "cynefin" and the idea of belonging, comfort, habitat and all the other connotations it embodies.