On Our High Horse

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“Life is like dreaming with your feet.” – unknown

My kids and I went to a wedding out of town this weekend. Staying in a room with side-by-side queen beds, we didn’t get much sleep and I caught a stomach bug but it was an adventure. In a post this spring, I wrote about lantern awareness, the idea from professor Alison Gopnik that kids’ brains have an awareness that is like a light held up high in the dark and illuminates everything around whereas adult brains tend to have spotlight awareness that focuses in on what we need to get done.

I found that traveling with my kids to someplace completely new to them is like being completely immersed in a treasure trove provided by their lantern awareness.

So we found a lot of treasures and I wrote about one for the Pointless Overthinking blog in a post called Cookie Cutter Faith.

22 thoughts on “On Our High Horse”

    1. Thanks, Grace! I’m feeling better now. Just knowing the concept of those types of awareness helps me understand better when I’m in the middle of what feels like kid chaos! Thanks for reading!

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  5. I’m sorry about the stomach bug. I knew something had to be up as you didn’t post yesterday!

    Going on a trip with your kids is always such a treat. Despite the bug, I’m glad you had this time with them!

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    1. Thanks for missing me, my friend! 🙂 Yes, I was wiped out by the end and although I had a lot of stories, I was out of energy to actually cogitate about them. I’m better now thankfully.

      It is a treat to be able to travel with them – a whole new perspective!

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    2. I echo Ab’s comment, and wish you a complete and speedy recovery!

      It is an intriguing observation and a fantastic analogy: is that what “growing old” means? Losing the sense of wonder that we had early on, and instead of marveling at the world, just shining one laser focused ray of light on one narrow aspect of the world?

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      1. Thanks, EW! I’m fortunately all better.

        Such an interesting question about growing old. Alison Gopnik says that the pathways of the young brain look like the streets of Old Paris – windy and small but tons of them whereas adult brains have boulevards – faster by fewer of them. But I think the science shows that we can develop new ones all along.

        Perhaps you are a better expert on this though – has retirement enabled you to re-open your sense of wonder since you are presumably less focused on a job that drives getting things done? It seems like you are a delightful wonderer!

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      2. That’s a magnificent compliment, thank you! If our blog wasn’t already named, we’d probably go for that!

        You’re giving me food for thought with your question. You know how some of the work one tends to do is what one WANTS to do, but a portion of it is “overhead”? That overheard, which can easily consume more than half or even 3/4 of one’s time at work is soul-crashing. So, yes, Our souls are in the process of rejuvenating, for sure. I do think that with so much time spent on the tactical and on the urgent at work, one has much less energy or time to wonder or to wander.

        And, yes, I also believe that we have the capacity to learn new things at any age, if we’re willing to. Just like some folks block themselves to new learnings at a relatively early age.

        I’m going to have to ponder and wonder about this excellent question some more!

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      3. I know exactly what you mean about the soul crushing overhead. Whenever I think I’m tired of running my own business and would like to work for someone else, I think about the “corporate overhead” and change my mind!

        And delightful wonderer is a perfect moniker to you. I think you are right – we can learn at any age!

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      4. All you need to do is watch Office Space or Better Off Ted to strengthen your resolve 🙂 Though there are positives in size, too…

        And thank you 🥰 I’d hope more of us felt we’re never too old to learn something new. Sadly, I’ve heard “I’m too old for this” way too often…

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      5. Or “can’t teach old dogs new tricks.” Sometimes having handy excuses — or worse, having a comfortable life that means we don’t HAVE to learn holds us back.

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