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Letter to Michelle
<br />by Linda Maldonado
<br />As I worked on the Fducator's Chide with Sherry
<br />this summer, I began to develop specific ideas
<br />about what skills and learnings are important for
<br />my little daughter, who will be 14 years old in Cite
<br />year 2001. This letter contains some of those
<br />thoughts.
<br />My darling Michelle,
<br />Now that you are 16 months old, I've had a
<br />chance to cnch my breath and think beyond &:
<br />urgent matters of the moment. Some of my
<br />thoughts about your future are here for you to read
<br />someday.
<br />The world is different for me than what my
<br />paints knew. The world you will inhabit as an
<br />adult will be vastly changed from what I know.
<br />What will you need to learn to live wisely in the
<br />future?
<br />Beyond the basic skills of school, I hope you
<br />will develop a love of history and a passion for
<br />current news.
<br />Learn about the world around you, use your
<br />curiosity as a lever to explore geology, botany,
<br />zoology, astronomy, physics, chemistry,
<br />sychology, history.
<br />Love libraries — learn hoer to research, to find
<br />information. Books have been my cherished
<br />neasures.
<br />Study the tiny, fragile planet you live on.
<br />Native Americans believed that everything is alive
<br />and related, connected. Sense yourself at the
<br />center of a web of life, and neat the world around
<br />you as an integral and valued part of yourself.
<br />Learn about yourself. Know your body,
<br />through sports, yoga, physiology. Know and
<br />marage your feelings and thoughts, through
<br />meditation, inter -personal skills, a personal
<br />journal.
<br />Observe the world. Learn to distinguish
<br />between what you see/hesr/smell/taste/touch from
<br />what you conc!udefinfer/judge. Learn to know,'is
<br />much as possible, what screens and filters = use
<br />to observe the world.
<br />Learn the practical skills that make you a self-
<br />sufficient human being: cooking, mending,
<br />cleaning, repairing, courtesy, thoughtfulness,
<br />service. Work with tools, build furniture, ch^nge
<br />the oil in your car (or your father's car), garden
<br />with intelligence and love, help your neighbors.
<br />Become competent in the necessities of living.
<br />Spend time with people. Develop many
<br />frendsHus with many different kinds of people.
<br />Learn at least two other languages, even if only
<br />enough to stumble through a simple conversation.
<br />Language opens up new ideas and friendships.
<br />Develop balance. Life is neither all work or all
<br />play. Weigh isolation with sociability, seriousness
<br />with humor, physical effort with mental discipline
<br />and spiritual practice.
<br />Enjoy every moment. None of us knows the
<br />instant of our death. Each day is a gift, to be
<br />valued, savored, and used welL Value friends and
<br />family, not privately, but actively --hug them, tell
<br />them you love them, do small kindnesses for them.
<br />This way you will never regret having failed to let
<br />them know ,you car.
<br />Now that you are here, more [hart ever I want
<br />the world to live up to its potential. I want you to
<br />see it in its full glory. When I look around me
<br />now, I have rew eyw--when you are 14 in 2001
<br />A.D., will the water be fit to drink? Will the ozone
<br />layer be strong enough to protect your skin and
<br />eyes? Will you be able to enjoy the forests, parks
<br />and wilderness? Will your brothers and sisters
<br />around the world finally have enough to eat, a
<br />warm place to live, schools to learn in, and the
<br />means to earn a decent living?
<br />There is much work for us to do to ensure that
<br />the world you inherit as an adult is a rich,
<br />nurturing, healthy home. Know that I care, and
<br />that I am working on my small piece of the puzzle.
<br />With love, your mother.
<br />We encourage you to record you own thoughts
<br />about what skills, ktrowledge and attitudes you
<br />hope your children will develop.
<br />COUNTDOWN 2001's MISSION
<br />We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit education organization,
<br />founded in 1985. our mission is to focus and
<br />direct tum-of-the-century projects, activities, and
<br />celetmtions so that they improve the quality of life
<br />on this planet. We help organizations and
<br />individuals create, communicate and activate
<br />positive images of the future. We believe that:
<br />The future belongs to everyone.
<br />A better future is possible.
<br />The future is shaped by our actions.
<br />Winter'88289 Page 4
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