The Question
Ari's Grove began with a question.
To what extent can we participate in creating who we become?
For much of my adult life I have been interested in the relationship between what is given and what can be cultivated.
We inherit temperament, history, circumstances, strengths, limitations, opportunities, and challenges. Yet experience also suggests that people can learn, adapt, grow, and develop in meaningful ways.
How much freedom do we have within those constraints?
How much of ourselves is discovered, and how much is created?
Ari's Grove is an ongoing exploration of that question.
Psychology offers evidence about the structures and processes involved. Philosophy helps clarify assumptions and reasoning. Mythology provides language for the lived experience of change, struggle, growth, and meaning. Together they offer different perspectives on a shared human concern:
How much authorship do we have in the lives we are becoming?