The Big Decision and a Minor Revelation

Let's start with the revelation. Our assigned readings for today covered the importance of rituals and how they can serve as educational tools. In my written reflections regarding these articles, I was slightly dismissive of the authors' contention that ritual still served a purpose in today's world. As a "modern" society, we are no longer tethered to the land and therefore many of the seasonal rituals or festivals that were once celebrated are no longer practiced. What I failed to realize is that perhaps rituals become even more important now that we do not have that intimate connection with the land. I have always thought that I had a relatively open mind and perhaps this was true when I was younger. I have been more than slightly alarmed to find I have become more set in my ways and resistant to other viewpoints. Hopefully this realization will allow me to approach future readings with a more open mind.

And now onto the "big decision." The time has come to select a topic for our research project. I entered today with a few ideas about what I was interested in studying and I think that I will probably follow through with one of them. This afternoon we conducted a large-scale brainstorming session where we threw a number of our ideas (in question form) on the board and it seems as if there are at least a few other people who are interested in similar subject matter. One of the areas I'm considering is conducting a study of the large predators on the property. I've been kicking a few ideas around with other students but haven't settled on a specific topic I'd like to study. Some of us got excited about the prospect of looking at animal hair under the electron microscope when we learned that it was possible to learn which elements are present in that hair. That led us wonder if we could detect potential contamination from the Superfund site adjacent to the property. Our logic is that if a large predator was to venture off property and consume a smaller animal which had consumed contaminated food, it might show up in the animal hair. We'll see. This may be too tangential to the property so I'm working on other ways to make a large predator study viable. I must admit that there is more than a little anxiety surrounding this decision. Will I pick a good topic? Will I work effectively with my group? But then again, I'm a worrier. I'm sure everything will work out.