A Morning When Radio Teaches Me What I Don't Know

This morning on my drive to work, I did the unthinkable... I turned on NPR. Rarely do I listen to anything on what has been for the last year, a daily grind to work. I am consciously changing that mindset one day at a time. Today, my action was actively listening and engaging with the world around me through music, radio and conversation. Those 10 minutes of NPR taught me about a new aspect of water - a cultural one. Go Figure.

Diego Rivera is a world recognized Mexican muralist. His style does not match my tastes, but I remember appreciating his work, and that of his wife Frida, in my many iterations of Spanish class. Apparently Rivera considered water to be a vital social issue. I completely agree, but I never applied it to him... my mistake. Between 1950 and 1952, Rivera created an artistic fountain depicting the Aztec rain god Tlaloc which was designed to act as a gateway for water from the Lerma River to enter Mexico City's municipal water system. According to Lilia Haua of Probosque Chapultepec, "It's a very special fountain. It's one of the most important sculptures that Diego Rivera did in his life .... everything [in the fountain and murals are] related with the importance of the water." The fountain was in disrepair and was recently restored to emulate Rivera's style, while accomodating the engineering change to the existing water infrasture (i.e., the water no longer flow from the river through the fountain to the reservior, but rather thought a parallel pipe system). More about the original NPR report is found at:
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/21/144028225/unusual-diego-rivera-work-restored-in-mexico-city

I consider myself to be a water expert, but I also recognize I have not been challenging myself. To explore. To Ask. To Learn. By not rising to the challenge, I began to stagnate. Which led to a bit of an emotional tail spin... Now, I am swimming towards fresh water, away from the stale pond I'd unwittingly fallen asleep in.

You don't know what you don't know. Unconscious Incompetence.
But you know what? I'm excited to know more.