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KIDS OF CHARACTER 11/03
The Crown Called Content “My crown is in my heart, not on my head, It is possible, more likely probable, that the Western world’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare, was influenced by the ancient wisdom of Lao-Tzu who wrote, “He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.” Living content explores the theme of enough being enough. Could America’s kids benefit from character mentors providing guidance on the character lesson of enough being enough? Is there enough said about that question? No! So let’s takes a fresh look at Shakespeare’s crown of content called enough. America, the land of Content; the home where enough is Enough! Stop, right there! Did you read those words with instantaneous, agreement? If so, you will miss the intent of this message. We are the nation of the striving, excelling, pursuing and consuming. We are the Culture driven by more…Now. Content? No such thing…just a mirage on the fertile societal landscape where want and need merge…where Getting More identifies success, achievement and, most unfortunately, where one’s vision of happiness and satisfaction is measured. Content? Go fishing for the day… chill out and relax. But get back in the game. Contentment? That’s later on, six feet under. Joseph Chilton Pearce was a significant 20th century philosopher, educator and researcher. He spent many years studying children in our society. One of his startling discoveries about healthy children was that they benefited cognitively and emotionally from regular periods of blank, open staring…daydreaming! The character premise of Pearce’s work, from my window of awareness, is that healthy-choice kids discover what it means to simply take time to Be. Content kids discover they are human beings whose exploration of self reflection is not trumped by the droning monotony of outwardly focused stimulation. Kids of character enjoy the inquiry of what is within them as much as they pursue the world that wants their sensory attentions and well-tuned consumer skills. The character mentor holds the Being Key to unlock the inquiry of a child or youth’s exploration and appreciation that self ownership of a content attitude is a valued life skill. Significant adults who model the exploration of inner treasure, the wealth of Being, can enormously help America’s kids learn to wear Shakespeare’s crown called content in their heart.
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