It pleases me when Aislings take an interest in the past; in our race’s shared culture and history. We are, after all, in the twenty-sixth cycle since the dawn of Aisling kind. A lot of time has passed and countless Aislings have walked these lands during that time. I can imagine that coming to Temuair at this late age can be quite overwhelming with the weight of everything that has come before.
Oftentimes I hear advice given to new, inquisitive Aislings. They are told they must bury themselves in the libraries and read the works of those that have come before. It is only then that these new Sparks will be properly equipped to contribute their perspective to Temuair.
I can certainly agree that you should read the works of the most enlightened. Even us old Aislings have a deep respect for the wisest of those we walked alongside. So, by all means, read the treatises of the great Philosophers. Study the chronicles of the eminent Historians. And be enthralled by the imagination of our most skilled Storytellers. These Aislings have helped set the basis for continued debates and the stories we still tell to this day.
But I impress upon you not to allow appreciation to give way to worship and idolatry. Realize that just as you have, even the most enlightened Aislings were once stumbling around Mileth in peasant clothes, picking through the molds of the crypt. Understand that nobody is beyond reproach and not a single work in the library is unassailable. Just because something has been written in the past does not necessitate that it must determine the future.
Such rigidness is the domain of Gramail or perhaps Luathas. The creative spark shines brightest when possibilities are unshackled.
I tell you this: Do read the works of the past; allow them to enrich you, but do not slavishly attach yourself to every word that crosses your eyes. Even better, challenge accepted thinking. Shake the foundations of ‘accepted’ knowledge with the fresh perspective that you have coming into Temuair for the first time. Allow your fresh ideas and your fresh voice to rise above dusty tomes written centuries ago.
It is new ideas and novel perspectives that keeps Temuair from stagnation. This is why I still dream of Temuair, to see this very thing. I will look forward to the fresh thinking this generation here today brings to Temuair.
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