Cursive Thoughts

Written by Kate Wildrick, April 12, 2025

The other day, I sat quietly watching my son (Daniel) do his school work. In learning how to write and read cursive, he – like many other children – complained of why he had to learn how to do this. He saw no value and felt it was a complete waste of time and effort. For the 50th time, I did my best to come up with a new explanation or reason that writing cursive was relevant and important. In deciding it was best to just complete the task, he surrendered and focused on the remaining sentences to write out.

In that peaceful moment, I could not help but reflect back to my school days and began to mine through all that I had supposedly learned but never really put into practice. The grueling nights of feeling defeated by algebra and watching my dad grow enraged by my inability to grasp basic logic filled me with anxiety. (In fact, I still have nightmares that I did not successfully complete a math class in high school or college and had to give back my diploma until I completed it.). There were so many things I was expected to learn and remember. Even thought I was a top student, I always enjoyed learning and challenging myself when it came to real world situations and scenarios that forced me to acquire knowledge and apply it in a way that could unlock new opportunities or potentials. Learning for the sake of learning was one thing. However, in being able to feel like you unlocked or created something was entirely different. That was meaningful and drove me to want to do many things.

So back to cursive. Perhaps Daniel had a point, but I did enjoy writing messages using this art form that he could not read. In taking delight in this, I could see how he teeter tottered between having this skill fall into the useful or useless category. Either way, there was still a lack of interest and desire to perfecting this form of communication. As he continued to write, I began to wonder what the world would look like for him, especially with so many significant changes on the horizon that are growing closer and closer each and every day.

The fabrication and manipulation of our reality is growing more and more evident and people are struggling to know what is really real. It truly is a fascinating time to be alive and to watch as many thoughts, ideologies and beliefs collide. No matter what the narrative is, people always have a knack for creating what they think is real and/or attached to (even if it is unconscious). After all, there is so much evidence out there to support and to justify it. Nonetheless, what I am observing is that in this day and age where competition for real estate in your mind is at an all time high, more and more resources are going into doing predictive modeling, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Our emotions and thoughts can be weaponized and also serve as a liberators. In saying that, what I do not see is being taught is how we as humans are wired to function in the world. The 12+ year behavior modification system I was subjected to stifled my creativity and it took years to retrieve it. My peers and I were never taught how we were wired and programmed to interface with the world, let alone how to repair ourselves when things are no longer working. Instead, I was taught to please others. I was taught to conform. I was taught to strive to be like everyone else.

The world we live in now is very different from the world I grew up in. I have had to intentionally unlearn many things that do not serve me and mindfully disrupt the conscious fabric that I am made of to make room for the things that do. What I understand more than ever is that what we think about expands. What we feel wires our mind and bodies to engage with the world in and around us. Our biochemistry creates states of being that we literally become addicted to. In longing for predictable and familiar experiences that reinforce our reality – our thoughts, stories and narratives become the scaffolding that we cling to.

Without creativity, imagination and a soulful desire to experience something meaningful and fulfilling, we exist as pawns to be manipulated and leveraged to build others dreams and empires. We hand over our spark in an effort to belong or know comfort. In recognizing that this will only become a growing challenge, this is one of the many reasons that I decided to write and create, “The Becoming the Writer of Your Life” e-learning course. My intention here is to leverage what I have learned first hand from the 15+ years of doing healing and journey work to bring another perspective and insight into the world to ignite and make space for something inspiring, hopeful and empowering. I have come to embrace my role as a storyteller and in doing so, I see the value of sharing these skills with others who wish to pick up the pen and write (perhaps in cursive) the life they long to live and create.

The nearly 300 hours I have poured into this work that started in 2022 has been distilled down into an 2 hour course. Everything I have written, artistically designed, recorded and developed honors the work I have so lovingly invested in and serves as the cornerstone of three other courses that will build upon it. On Saturday, April 19th, 2025 (my birthday), I will be releasing a very special opportunity to unfurl this work into the world for a select group of people who would like to help me make it even better. In true giving and receiving, my hope is that together we can even make it better experience for those who will opt to invest in it later. This debut will include some very special perks, so if any of what I have written here piques your interest, I highly encourage you to stay tuned as I will be sharing more about what has fueled me to create this incredible body of work. If you are excited about this, let me know below so I can be sure to tag you on updates.