a spark

We evolve so quickly now.  To think that all the change that we have seen in the past couple hundred years, or especially the last hundred, and compare it to the previous hundreds, it nothing short of amazing.  Here in North America, we have taken so much of what is new, and actually created it, and pushed it through our culture in a way to allow people to grow so fast in ways that would not have been possible before.  Exposure to new thoughts, new worlds, and new comforts, which would never have been dreamed of before.

And with any change, there will be unforeseen consequences, consequences that we may not have intended. Nevertheless, we are here today and a genie can never be put back in the bottle.

I raise these basic thoughts only to compare myself to them. For some time ago, I may have been a rarity, but today likely commonplace.  Because it was in my earliest years of school that teachers noticed something unusual in me.  What sparked their interest was a painting I created of George Washington in front of Mt. Vernon, ax in hand and a cherry tree toppled over.  The content wasn't too alarming, it was the depth of field, the shadowing and 3 dimensions that stood out.  

So the good teachers would label me, and hustle me off with other children from time to time for some sort of special class or another.

The value of that label was not wasted on me, but it should be shared with many many others.  The greatest lesson I got from it was to see that there was always something going on that you did not know about, a different life that you were never aware of that had been running parallel to you the entire time.

If more people understood that, they might be more inclined to change or move out of their present environment if it does not suit them.  And that skill can really make or break a life  Unfortunately, many of us do not share that very important skill.

For me, it was critical to know, it was a key.