From: Robert Golda <clearcommunications@comcast.net>
Subject: A very Interesting Story
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:21:53 -0400

You Know Mike,
  I have thanked Caryn Robinson a number of times for introducing
you to me. Know that you have been very influential in my growth
process in the Natural world. I have always felt that we must NEVER
stop growing, learning and being able to adjust or even change our 
views and opinions depending on what we learn and how we grow in life.
It must be my own, "Cognitive Dissonance" that has not allowed myself
to understand better, that the children are the big key. Yes, we need
things to happen now in so many areas of our environment, but without 
the kids, there is no one to pass the baton too, or to continue the 
right ways. Some one told me many years ago, that a Child is the very
best example of a human being. Then us adults spend all our time
trying to get them to lose, forget or change all these things that 
make them such great examples of what good humans are. Most kids when
asked to do what is right or wrong, will in most cases select the 
right ways. I know that sounds a little vague, but it's the best way
I can express what I am seeing more and more in our youth. Not the
teenagers, but the 5-12 year olds. before they have lost the 
abilities to see right from wrong, without being hampered by, 
"Cognitive Dissonance".
A great example of this came on a Hike I led just last weekend, in
one of our State Parks here i Michigan. I had about 20 people in the
Group, and 5 of them were children between the ages of 5-10 years 
old. We had a number of adults who had various levels of knowledge on
Trees and Flowers. As we left a forested area of the trail and
entered a beautiful Meadow, we were all struck by the diversity of 
blooming flowers there, and how undisturbed this beautiful Meadow 
was. As one of the adults started to leave the trail to get a closer
look and picture of one of the wildflowers, the smallest of the 
children, the five year old said, to the adult starting to head off 
the trail: "be careful that you don't crush any of the other flowers 
and bugs". The adult stopped in her tracks and took the couple of
steps she had taken, right back onto the trail. The child that said
this was serious in her comments, and the adult she said this to, was 
just another Hiker to her, and not even a family member. The entire
Group witnessed this, and you could feel the sensation go over the 
whole group. Not a soul ventured off the Trail the entire afternoon
that we Hiked that day, after this situation. That child's simple 
understanding of what was happening in that natural place, was so 
easily transferred to all the adults and other children, and was so 
CORRECT in it's wisdom, that no one questioned the little girls 
statement or it's validity. Everyone just understood.
I was so impressed and enthused by this, I thought that You may be
also uplifted by this story as well. It really showed me something
very important. Just how a child can see and say something so
uncontaminated, and true, that all the people of all ages around her, 
just understood it and never questioned it, knowing that it came from 
someone who didn't have an agenda, or self-promoting issue to make. 
It was just the truth, and Everyone knew it!
Rob
HIKING MICHIGAN