I was recently talking with a student about growing up. She reflected that her experience of growing up has been a widening of her awareness, her eyes opening and seeing more. I like that perspective a lot.
As we learn and develop understanding, our perspective widens and we see more than we saw before; our awareness and understanding of the universe grows. A part of growing up is understanding ourselves more, seeing more of who we really are beneath the layers of interpretations, judgements, stories, and facades that we allow ourselves to become conditioned to.
I think that the being of an adult has one of its starts there, with a broadening awareness of who we really are. But this awareness alone is not the sole prerequisite for growing up. Embodying the full potential of adulthood includes this understanding of our true nature as well as developing the integrity to act in ways that align with our true selves.
This pair, awareness of our true nature and the integrity to act consistent with that nature, constitutes to me a solid foundation for being an adult. You can certainly be an adult without self-awareness and integrity, but I think they help.
I promise you that most teens expect this of adulthood; they expect that, as adults, they’ll know themselves and have the integrity to act consistently with that self-knowledge.
I’d like for schools to meet this critical need of our development, to widen our awareness not just of subjects in school, but of ourselves and our fundamental nature as human beings.
Thanks for reading ❤️.
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