On Knowledge

             As people, we learn by necessity. The quest for knowledge--for understanding--is a primal and visceral need. Without the yearning to comprehend the world around us, we would have accomplished nothing. If we didn't seek ways to overcome obstacles, what then would differentiate us from common animals? It is at once the key to our survival and the creator of our very humanity. This incredible search for understanding has brought us to where we are today. People argue that knowledge is the proverbial double edged sword, capable of producing great pain and suffering but with the capacity to enlighten the world, to change the very essence of how we as a people understand our lives. This sentiment, however, is essentially flawed. It is the human decision to search for knowledge and then to apply it with the intention to alter the world that changes the course of history. The laws of the universe around us do not change--the Earth would orbit the sun even if we had no idea that it did--and it is only upon discovery that we can even hope to alter them. Personally, I think this a grand idea. That I as a shabby, inconsequential girl can dare to change the world just by perceiving it differently is a strange and awesome byproduct of the human mind.
              It is because of this immense power, that I think it imperative, crucial even, to take the initiative required to learn. It is vital that we take an active part in our own educations not just in school or work, but everywhere we go. The first step to this thinking is to understand how we learn. I previously mentioned that we learn out of necessity, and this I think is true. We force ourselves to understand things because we perceive it as important or because it is required of us. The understanding we achieve from this learning is limited and shallow. It's the kind of knowledge you gain to pass a test then lose the next day. We also learn through experience and connection. Our social behavior, the way we look at the people around us and our systems of societal norms were never explicitly taught to us. These guidelines came gradually through years of strange looks, passing comments and disapproving parents but they nonetheless stick to us until the moment we die. This is a lasting knowledge that shapes the way we do things as simple as eat breakfast to how we consider love or war. The third and last way we learn is a direct result of passion. A pure love for learning that leads us to discover and pursue whatever we think will give us the tools we need to find some kind of enlightenment. This learning is not forced upon us or slowly and stubbornly ingrained into our beings but is instilled upon us from birth. It is elusive and mysterious and horrifyingly powerful. It's the kind of learning that challenges the way we see the things around us and moves us to create, to explore, to change.
              I am proud to say that I have started to learn--to actively search for the subjects that I can delve into simply to indulge this passionate learning--and I have begun to find the knowledge that will move me places I can barely conceive of. I am finding my callings in literature, in service and in history. I do not yet know what use these will have in my future, but I am determined to use the power I gain to change the world. With the simple act of picking up a book, I am preparing myself to make an impact, however small, on the people and ideas of my time. The acquisition of knowledge is scary and rough but it brings with it the hope and determination of all of people that will call our lonely planet home.

Medieval Times

Medieval literature presents a bit of a problem for the traditional romantic such as me for a few different reasons. When a person with my sentiments envisions medieval England, images of heroic knights and damsels in distress threaten to overpower the striking reality that people living in the 1300's had many of the same problems that we have today. They were tired and cranky, passionate and boastful people with all of the intrigues that make life so messy hundreds of years later. It's hard to discard the shining images of castles and gleaming armor and face the fact that life in the middle ages was a dirty, complicated, and let's face it, an ungodly stinky (London didn't develop an effective waste treatment system until the 1600s) time. Visions of a chaste and innocent era are immediately dashed the moment you open some of the works composed in this time period. Ballsy ballads and stories full of sinful twists in plot provide a surprisingly rich experience for the reader.

Once I got past the lyrical language, I found characters that surprised and taught me. Entertaining and educational, I found the works I read (The Canterbury Tales, The Ballad of Robin Hood and the Three Squires and selected lyrics from medieval songs) touched on many of the same issues that press today’s society and provide a unique and helpful interpretation of human nature. Where better to learn the detrimental effects of greed, intrigue, lust and manipulation than in the pages of Chaucer’s masterpiece? Flawed characters and wretched situations provoke thought and cause the reader to question the most basic aspects of human nature.

The selections of medieval literature I read helped me to come to my own understanding of the world and develop my skills as a student and writer. Understanding the antiquated prose took most of my skill as a reader while the analysis of the work challenged me to connect to text far removed from my own time and culture. My time with this literature has benefited me morally and educationally. These limited selections bestowed me with a deep appreciation for the work of the time and the writers that condescended to allow us to learn from their texts. 

The truth as I see it

It has long been known that the truth is anything but universal. It is, I believe, generally accepted that the truth is nearly always twisted and cajoled into one person's limited view of a subject then crammed into their relatively minute world view only to be distributed by countless others who will twist it in their own different ways. What this says with regards to the accuracy or validity of what we conceive of as true is, to be honest, way past my capacity as a lowly and rather ignorant teenager.

I started this post with that rather rambling rant because I think that it is important to make the distinction between my opinions and the truth. As I read great works by greater authors my view of their intended truth will inevitably be skewed by the way I see the world. I can have no way of really knowing what these legends intended when they set their thoughts to ink; all I can to is relate the snippets of meaning that I derive from the passages that they left for us. Whether my musings will even come close to the ‘truth’ I cannot say.

Reading this post, it may seem that my choice for a title was considerably ill chosen. But that is a notion that I reject whole heartedly. This quote taken out of its early nineteenth century context speaks to the generality with which we often speak of the truth. It is also significant in that by posting my thoughts on the works presented to me in class I will be finding my own personal “universal truth” and really, isn't that what we’re all looking for?