For years, at the beginning of most classes, I would give a mini-lecture called “Sensibilities.” It was an attempt to cultivate curiosity, to stimulate an attitude of gratitude for one’s education, to instill “a burnin’ yearnin’ for learnin’” in all my young scholars. So important, so elusive…

It started by harvesting answers to the question “What is cool?” Which in turn needed some analysis. As you, my children, used to tell me, “cool” stood for constipated, overweight, out-of-style, loser. So I’d have to plumb the shallows of teen talk to come of with generational alternatives: swell, fab, groovy, bad, dope, wicked, gnarly, rad, killer, funky, fresh, fly, phat, lit, tight, sweet, bodacious, money (from the movie Swingers), awesome, epic, slammin’, slappin’,  sick (sic.), dank, mint, fire, legit, and we’ll stop with that very low bar. Of course, the question “What is cool?” could also be phrased “What is hip?” (one of the greatest songs ever and a noteworthy attempt at an answer!). 

Style seemed always a central issue in many answers, which caused me to digress into learning styles (and Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences) in an attempt to encourage students to try ‘em all out. At the same time to at least appreciate the variety of styles of everything, and to like more than dislike, this being a way to increase one’s personal wealth, and perhaps even happiness? Eventually, this line of discussion would lead to other cultures and other time periods in history, and the suggestion that one appreciate all of it…

Here, I’d introduce some German vocabulary: Zeitgeist & Weltanschauung, or the spirit of the time and one’s world view. My main point was to not let the current zeitgeist be the sole source of one’s Weltanschauung. Of course, this entailed exploring other zeitgeists, ie. the cultural themes attached to various decades (ie. “the gay ‘90’s” [which can depend on the century one is considering]), or eras of history like the Enlightenment or the Depression. Here’s where the term “eclectic” comes in, that one could take what is useful or meaningful from various eras of history and from various places around the world. 

Ideally, students would then have an open mind and a desire to fill it. Ideally, they would add some capacity to their perspective and cultivate some perspicacity. Ah, but my reach exceeds my grasp… And, of late, I like to add another factor to this equation for intellectual growth: a tolerance for ambiguity. Not only might this sensibility add heft to one’s eclecticism, but it can guard against polemics, perhaps even synergize some wisdom? In other words, where is the truth in the paradox? Or, when asked to defend, challenge, or qualify, always qualify! Always look for the useful and meaningful, even the good, in both sides of an argument. Find value wherever you can, though you may need to dig, or clean, or reassemble. And likely, you will have to change yourself.

So what’s my point? Mindset is key. And it’s hard to always have a good one. In addition to having an expansive, positive, even loving weltanschauung with a healthy dollop of ambiguity tolerance, one must get enough sleep, exercise a bunch, don’t smoke, drink, eat too much, and don’t be overwhelmed by all there is to know. To do that, it helps to have a map. A map of the world and a map of your life. To help with that, I’d give another, not-so-mini-lecture called “Timelines.” (Here’s the deck.) It involves some Big History, my version of cultural literacy, a realistic take on planning one’s only life on earth, and some time management. 

So, there’s probably more than one point, but having a healthy mindset can help you explore them all…