Month: January 2025

 

Surely, we all know or have known a few Renaissance people.  These are the folks who know a little about a lot of things.  Well-rounded is an apt description.

Leonardo di Vinci was considered the archetype of the fourteenth to seventeenth century, homo universalis, ideal “Renaissance man.”  Known primarily for his accomplishments as an artist, di Vinci was also a gifted scientist and inventor.

The definitive “Renaissance man,” di Vinci was skilled across fields as well as knowledgeable beyond his obvious and well-known works.  He came up in the time of the Renaissance when the rebirth of classical (Greek and Roman) education had fertilized his inquiring mind.

I could name a handful of Renaissance people born right here and in our time.  However, I won’t name them because often, they’re humble and would be embarrassed to be mentioned in a public forum.   But I will mention a man, now deceased, who my husband and I often referred to as our “Renaissance man,” Jerry Leeds.

Jerry could fix anything and he could talk, talk, talk about any topic from what’s the best fertilizer for grapes to that symphonic piece you just published, the African Methodist church service last week, to how to fix that small engine that just conked out.  Jerry was well-versed in many disciplines and not all talk; he applied his vast knowledge to the work of his hands.

Being educated formally in the liberal arts or humanities: history, cultural studies, critical thinking, languages, philosophy, social and religious studies, grammar; and generally learning figuratively, where humans have come from and where we’re headed, helps us to fall into the role of Renaissance people.  However, formal education is not the only education.

Necessity breeds resourcefulness and many a Renaissance person had no choice but to “learn how to do it or else.”  Also, travel exposes one to the potential to know a little about a lot.  Willingness and openness to learn is a prerequisite for becoming a Renaissance person.  Apprenticeship with a Renaissance person can by example, mold one into the same.

”Renaissance man,” is not a sexist term nor concept.  This was/is a man in the sense of human, not a person of the male gender.  Many women are Renaissance people.  In fact, I would venture an educated guess that many women are such.

Women have the potential to be the most holistic creatures on earth.  Bearing another human from your body, I dare say, requires something of you beyond the physical.  Having children or not having children does not automatically make you a Renaissance person.  However, bearing a child and raising said child predisposes you toward learning  a little about a lot and then teaching this information to your child.

If you can cook creatively with nothing, sew and mend anything, build a deck, house or carport, do your own taxes, grow food and flowers, lead a committee, do some basic accounting, exercise compassion toward others, navigate the internet and multiple customer service representatives, know God, play an instrument, sing, dance, counsel others who are hurting, nurse their wounds, solve a thousand intersecting problems, read a book or a thousand, appreciate nature and artistic beauty, speak effectively in a meeting or a crowd, and a host of other necessities in life, I think you’re a Renaissance person  I know a few women and men who fit this bill.

You might ask why do I care about being a Renaissance person or that you are one?  If you are a well-rounded individual, you are in a greater position to contribute to society.  Thus, your potential for life-satisfaction is multiplied because you have more resources to draw from when reality gets harsh.

Life is easier when you can recall a song, a poem, a Bible verse, an apropos word or phrase in Spanish, French, or Italian, to address a current sticky situation.  A particular painting, a re-read of a favorite book, a walk in the woods or along a beach, a home-cooked meal or baked good, crafting a piece, pounding a nail, or some such release of skill, might be just the thing to make you smile.  That’s when you’re grateful to be a Renaissance person.

 

At three years old, or is it five, most children incessantly ask why.  “Why do I have to brush my teeth?”  “Why is it raining?”  “Why does the Easter Bunny bring eggs?”  Why, why, why?

Then comes high school in the blink of an eye.  There you learn the all-important W-words.  We learned in English class back in the day, the five W’s and one H word of journalism.  These are the questions we were expected to ask and answer to gain information to supply the substance of any journalistic piece.

Who, what, when, where, why and how?  So, into adulthood, we carry on the question-asking habit, only if the most prevalent questions remaining in our arsenal are why and what for?

“What for,” must have been another traditional kid-interrogative sentence because adults created a punishment for asking it too much.  It went like this “I’m gonna give you what for if you keep that up!”

If you were punished for no reason, you might reasonably ask, “for what am I being punished?”  What for?  In response, the punisher might say, “I’ll give you ‘what for’” as the nebulous reason.  Your inquiry is thusly stopped.

If you are a person with a naturally “wondering” personality, you might get “what for” for asking “why” too much. This reminds me of a quote I recently came across and jotted down because of my wondering ways.  “For your peace of mind do not try to understand everything.”

Fill in the blank and make a note of how many times this week, you’ve said either to yourself or someone else, “I don’t understand why…”.  Maybe the answer to why is the customary tired parent’s answer to the why-question, “just because.”

That answer has evolved into the highly philosophical version of “just because,” “it is what it is.”  Back in the day we said, “everything is everything,” as a bit of a jab at the answers posited by the Mother Earth folks among us.

Don’t get me wrong, questions are a vital form of effective communication.  Curiosity doesn’t always kill the cat, in fact frequently curiosity gleans dinner for the cat if not a smidgen of fun.

The way we analyze situations, make informed decisions, understand and process incoming data, and discover answers behind doors number one through a zillion, is by asking questions if only in our minds.

My husband is a question-asking conversationalist, the best in the business.  When I’m happy to move right along, my husband is back in aisle seven asking someone another open-ended question, and he sincerely cares to know the answer.

Interrogative is another word for question.  Just like wonder is a form of ethereal questioning and the root word of wonderful, interrogations are questioning sessions, received often with resistance.

To our daughter, dad’s questions often feel like interrogation.  And she resists.

Interrogation by detectives is a way of getting vital answers to solve crimes.  This kind of questioning, being drilled for information, sometimes being asked the same question in different forms, repeatedly, is potentially off-putting.

But questions are the information-gathering substance of life.  Don’t you want to know more than what is spoon-fed to you by your daily walkabout?

Speaking of substance, or the lack thereof, from the looks of social media or general media, the questions people want answered are ludicrous and have nothing to do with life improvement.  In fact, this information used to be considered just nosiness and was inquired only by busy bodies.

I’m talking about dumb stuff like, what celebrity is getting divorced, who’s sleeping with their nanny, did she/he have facial surgery, are those breasts real or glued-on, who just bought another multi-million-dollar house, etc.  The slogan, “inquiring minds want to know,” was once only associated with worthless, rag journalism.

Today, however, there are substantive questions like, is there a new drug in the works to affect higher quality of life for Alzheimer’s patients and has the cancer gene been isolated.  But they get buried below what is this or that celebrity’s favorite color.  Oh, my goodness.

We are free to ask dumb questions.  I guess if I’m fair, I should agree with the teachers who say, “there is no dumb question,” but really, “like…what color nail polish does Kylie Jenner wear?”

My question would be, “why?”