Anthropology: The lens I need to focus

     I feel like in my quest to "make the worse seem better" (Lady Gaga), in my narrowed view of the education world I lost sight of my human story. I spent a fair bit of time traveling in my 20's and learned some incredible things about culture and the human experience. I remember returning to my tiny little town feeling so small, and that my extensive university education was only leading me to my life education. I have continued teaching and in the last 10 years endured personal challenges that have also shaped my view of the world.
     Until today, with the re-awakening of my traveler's spirit by the inspirational keynote speaker Wade Davis, I had forgotten how my human journey was influenced by the ethnosphere I have experienced in many different countries. I have been reminded of my threads woven in the world and how they are creating a tapestry of the life of Jones (Hmm... maybe a book title. Oh wait, too close to the "Life of Pi").
     My escape out of Africa, as it were, was gilded with gold embossed tattoos of middle eastern culture and people. Over the past 10 years, as tattoos sometimes do, those cultural lessons and connections to people have faded in colour but permanently embedded certain filters from which my lens views the world. I was reminded today how truly paramount those filters are. The layers of filters thrust in front of your world view need to be deep and plentiful. We need to collect as many filters as possible, knowing that the world bank of filters is infinite.