Today's fortune, how fitting.

More than anything else, mankind is hardwired to search for meaning. A large percentage of the world today lives an abundant lifestyle with a vast wealth of information no more than a click away. Pink describes this combination as the optimum conditions for man to seek meaning. Current research indicates a gradual shift in values, from an emphasis on materialism to an emphasis on “self-expression and quality of life.” (P 219) Pink describes this as the *“Fourth Great Awakening.” (P 219) There is no one size fits all in this quest for meaning, but the quest for purpose is a fundamental part of who man is and what he does. The fields of medicine and business are beginning to recognize the importance of spirituality, not in a religious sense, but as part of the quest for meaning. Productivity and interpersonal communication is enhanced when a person is able to view himself and others in a holistic manner versus compartmentalized versions of self.

Pink referenced Robert Inglehart (p218-19) and Inglehart’s World Values Survey. I wondered how my students would respond to such a survey. What do they value? I think it would be interesting to conduct a pre (beginning of the school year) and post( EOY) survey and see if there’s any change that I could link to the art curriculum. (My little lab rat students, it’s fortunate that they seem to enjoy SurveyMonkey as much as I do.) If medicine and business are realizing the importance of meaning and spiritual values, then why doesn’t education? Can’t people see beyond the separation of church and state and realize that spirituality is part of the whole person? (I think it’s important to point out, as did Pink, that in referencing spirituality I mean the desire to find purpose and meaning, not necessarily religion.) What if the school day included time for quiet meditation, what if playgrounds included labyrinths? What if we taught our students the process of engaging the left-brain in order for the right brain to flow with creative thought?

 *This led to my questioning the other three great awakenings, here’s what I discovered. This information directly cut and pasted from http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/256626.html

“To understand what is taking place today, we need to understand the nature of the recurring political-religious cycles called "Great Awakenings." Each lasting about 100 years, Great Awakenings consist of three phases, each about a generation long.

A cycle begins with a phase of religious revival, propelled by the tendency of new technological advances to outpace the human capacity to cope with ethical and practical complexities that those new technologies entail. The phase of religious revival is followed by one of rising political effect and reform, followed by a phase in which the new ethics and politics of the religious awakening come under increasing challenge and the political coalition promoted by the awakening goes into decline. These cycles overlap, the end of one cycle coinciding with the beginning of the next.” These cycles are further defined on the website.