Heart Pocket Word for the Day is Explore!

The word from my heart pocket is Explore.

How do I get from here to there? What's over there? It's got to be better than it is here. How will I ever know if There is better than Here unless I go there and find out? Do I even want to go there? Do I just need to change what I'm doing here? Where am I, anyway? And how did I get here?

Questions are a vital part of exploration. We may not voice them all out loud but we think them all day long. When we explore, we sometimes fight with ourselves like the above mental whiplash. But it's good to question and it's even better to head out on the road to wherever it is we think we want to go. Maybe not physically. Maybe not right away, although sometimes that's the best shortcut we can take. Usually, to make a little plan is ... a good plan. Exploration requires some forethought. So we know what to take with us. So we can make a map of sorts. So we can invite others to join us. So we can take care of business before going it alone. 

There are a bajillion ways to explore. In our minds. On foot. With our hearts. Through books. We can explore forwards and backwards and sideways and down. We can search the heavens and the depths of the ocean and the recesses of our minds. We can explore relationships and technology and the garden in our back yard. We can prospect for riches, research frontiers of healing, test new inventions, probe with numbers and science and sound.

Exploring is the essence of education. One more time.

Exploring is the essence of Education.

Teachers should allow all kinds of questions from their students. Parents and caregivers of children should find answers to questions, exploring them together if they do not know. Learning is a direct result of exploration and should be valued above memorization. Looking something up is a type of exploration.

There is something to learn in every minute. Although we also must take time to think and try and record and think some more during our times of exploration, we will always learn something, even if it is that it is time to learn something else.

Exploring sometimes means going outside one's comfort zone. Unless you are a natural adventurer, this can be a place not very far. That's okay. Every step, especially the baby ones, are proportionately more important. 

Build in some time to explore somewhere or something new today. Maybe you just want to explore your options. Good place to start ...