Meaningful experiences

Check out these two incredible pictures my sister took of her daughter playing with some baby baboons at the Bronx Zoo (you can click to make them big):

Aren't those precious? There's a Fifth Ape joke somewhere in there. More important is the fact that my niece will remember this interaction for a very long time. This is how primatologists are born.

In fact, this is how ANY interest is born - out of a deeply engaging and meaningful experience.

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I think we miss the mark here when it comes to our culture's approach to play and the environment. Richard Louv writes about this a lot and I agree with him - In our increasingly liability-obsessed world, we are stripping away opportunities for children, teens, and adults to have meaningful physical experiences in the natural world.

Did you know it's illegal to climb trees in many state parks? Or college campuses? Actually, you may have a hard time finding a tree you are allowed to climb. Any kind of Parkour-esque training, even at ground-level* is likely to be frowned upon.

*An aside: ground level* is where 90% of your training should take place. If you think you have to go up high to find good training opportunities you aren't looking hard enough or being creative enough. Be smart, kids.

*An aside to the aside: "ground level" of course refers to the ground and 8.5' above the ground :)

It's bled into the very fabric of our society. I was out training the other day, working on an easy gap jump from one retaining wall to another one. A woman walked by me - let's just say she was not in the best shape.

Woman: "You need to get down from there. You're going to kill yourself."

She put a button on her statement by taking a long swig from her 20oz. Pepsi bottle, then walking away.

It broke my heart a little.

I attribute my reverence for the natural world to the innumerable hours I spent as a child climbing trees to look at birds nests, and charging around through the woods to chase deer (still haven't managed to catch one... some day...) What happens to children who are kept from their evolutionary birthright of exuberant play?

Well, they engage where they can - usually where it's easiest. Video games offer fleeting engagement, but no real meaning. Cell phones and Youtube are all too easy.

The result? These kids grow into adults with deplorable physical education. One day they realize they need to "get in shape" and they attempt to have a meaningful experience with a treadmill. They hate it. They hate themselves for hating it. The link between movement and joy is severed... maybe forever.

At the same time, their connection to nature is weak. They may have read in a textbook that we need to protect the environment but that sentiment is not entwined in the deepest fibers of their being. They'll "like" a Save the Rainforest page on Facebook, but not pay attention when even more precious open space in their town is bulldozed to create a parking lot for a new Super Walmart.

So what can we do? Well, seek meaningful experiences for you and your family. Encourage your children to play outside. Hell, kick them outside if they resist. Let them explore and (this can be the hard part) leave them alone while they do it. Encourage real world conversions. Do your kids love playing fighting games? Take them to a martial arts class. Driving games? Get them to build a soapbox car. Action/adventure games? Bring 'em to a Fifth Ape class so we can develop their inner ninja :)

Get involved with your local community/government. Lobby to protect open spaces. Speak out to protect basic play activities. Work to build a community that is well integrated with the natural world.

And when that Meaningful Experience happens, for yourself or a member of your family, encourage it. Blow on that spark until it smoulders. Keep feeding it and it will turn into a fire.