Life Lessons From Clay

I can still vividly remember the first day of ceramics class my senior year of high school. Our teacher was sitting next to the window at the potter’s wheel with the class surrounding her, mesmerized by the spinning sloppy wet clay and its malleability to every pressure asserted by the tips of her fingers and the palms of her knowing hands. What started as a simple ball of clay was quickly transformed into what looked as if it might become a cereal bowl. As she worked, she said something that has stayed with me ever since, “It has taken my entire life to make this pot.” Knowing that my classmates and I did not entirely understand what she meant, she went on to explain that every experience in her life leading up to that moment has collectively contributed to who she is presently and therefore acts as the foundation on which her decisions are made.

It had certainly never occurred to me just how much our life experiences can influence the way we act and think on a daily basis, but ever since that moment years ago, I have often considered that idea and found it to be very true of myself and of others. In fact, it has helped me in many occasions when I don’t understand why someone thinks the way they do or why they act in a certain way to realize that their life experiences have been totally different then mine. That they are doing and thinking the best they can based on what they know and that often there is much that I can learn from them to broaden my own experience.

Someone mentioned to me the other day that a particular person was very opinionated. I quickly thought to myself that I did not consider the person to be particularly opinionated. In fact, I really valued her outlook even though I did not always agree. I checked out dictionary.com where I found the definition of opinionated to mean:

1. holding stubbornly and often unreasonably to one’s own opinions.

The same website defines opinion as:

1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
2. a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

I know that this person bases a lot of her view points on life experiences as well as information she actively pursues. So I’ve been considering lately what the difference really is between having a legitimate view point that is borne of a wealth of life time experience and just being plain opinionated.

Writing this blog has really challenged me to consider whether I am being opinionated in my views or if I can be grounded in them either by working to be informed on a topic or through first-hand experiences. I have appreciated the discipline and responsibility that seems to come along with putting myself out there for the universe to see. I like to think of blogging as an opportunity to mostly share your individuality with others and perhaps throw in a dash of opinion on top.

My ceramics teacher in high school always struck me as being a very wise, patient, and thoughtful person. It was easy for me to see how those lifetime qualities and the experiences that shaped them translated into her work with ceramics.

Goodness, I’ve Got Large Feet!

This week’s reading for the sustainable choices discussion group were centered around the theme of basic ecological principles. Key concepts covered included our ecological footprint as individuals and nations, the measurement of the earth’s carrying capacity, how as humans we typically make decisions in a linear fashion, and how we can choose to look to natural systems for guidance on how we create artificial systems that ideally may then be more cyclical in their manner.

One of the exercises we were encouraged to do was to measure our individual ecological footprint. This can be done at www.myfootprint.org. I have assumed for a long time that I am a fairly environmentally conscientious person, but after having taken this brief survey I am no longer so sure. It is quite shocking just how much of the earth’s resources are required for me alone to live the life that I have thus far. In fact, according to the calculated results of the survey, in order for every person living on earth to live the same way I do (same amount of driving, same type of food consumption, same amount of waste, same amount of living space, etc.) would require there to be 4 more planets! I imagine that there are quite a few generalities made by this survey and so I am mildly skeptical on the results. However, even if it was only half right, it is still a mighty fine piece of humble pie!