I first read about Dorian Paskowitz about a decade ago. A surfer and doctor who died last week at the age of 93, he made his mark by leaving his profession behind and raising his family in a 24-foot camper on the beaches of California. He insisted that his children would benefit more from reading books and traveling across North America than sitting in a conventional educational setting.
Paskowitz may well be right. Conventional schools often tend to stifle or inhibit the creativity of many people. Moreover, far too many of us seek (often for perfectly legitimate reasons) what is safe or secure rather than the adventurous and uncontrollable. We may be more comfortable, but we may also miss on something bigger and, in the big picture, more meaningful.
We can fit this into a number of scenarios, ranging from vocation to family to religion. It is often the people who take the most chances, intellectually, artistically, culturally, physically, or spiritually who reap the greatest existential rewards. We might observe, however, that this is how God intended for us to live, for ourselves, and for him. We're born to be, and become. God and life are profound mysteries. They may be dangerous, they may be hard, they may be joyful, they may be easy. But they cannot be mastered fully.
And we wouldn't want it any other way. Nor would God. Just ask Jesus.
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