February 4, 2023

Museums

Tomorrow in Southern California is free-admission day for more than thirty museums.  This is an opportunity to visit and experience one or more museums that one has thought about, but that the cost has perhaps been prohibitive.  It is a chance to explore themes and ideas that one doesn’t know if they would really have any interest in, and haven’t wanted to pay money with that uncertainty, but can now explore free of charge.

As we approached this weekend, we picked up from the airport one of our college students who returned home for a brief visit during a school break.  As we talked on the way to her home, she shared about her part-time job in a museum near her school, and the wonderful things that she has discovered so far.  A course on art history also piked her interest, and she has applied for a summer internship at a nearby art museum.  While her longer term goal is to attend law school, she has become immersed in a part of our world that is bringing her joy now, and will no doubt continue to enhance her life for years to come.

I love that the museums are having a free-admission day, because it opens the doors for any one of us to explore in ways that will likely bring us joy, and may perhaps move us to seek out further experiences, whether it be in art, in interactions with various cultures, or in coming to a greater understanding of the earth and our shared history.

To explore new ideas, to discover new joys, is part of the beauty of living together in our world.