Knowledge is power, it is sought after and is seen to be a consequence of privilege. The more privileged you are, the more access you have to technology, resources, and institutions that offer coveted knowledge. Wisdom over the ages has taught us to gain more and more knowledge and offers insight. Insight is sought after to achieve wellness, status, and again, power. Is that the pinnacle? To stop at insight? Or do we strive past insight into impact? How can we use knowledge to truly make an impact? Bringing that voice outside of ourselves and sharing the coveted knowledge, the privilege, and the experience of knowing to more and more individuals we open the door for transformation, not just for ourselves but for entire communities.

The experience of learning is intentionally transformative, to go from a speechless infant to a communicative toddler, to learn to speak. To be offered the opportunity to share your ideas, to understand others, to ask questions, and to continue to assimilate new ideas into your construction and framework of the world, is truly a gift. This transformation has been taught to be seen as almost an unstoppable force. Many grandmothers share their wisdom with new mothers “The child will learn on their own time; one cannot rush these things”. It leaves us feeling as if it is an automatic system and therefore misses the beauty and gratitude of the process. While the automatic nature of learning is an unseen gift in and of itself. You have access to teachers and mentors who are willing to share with you that your thirst for knowledge is always quenched, is that not a privilege in and of itself? To truly embrace the gratitude of knowledge, we must transform our perspective from an individual experience to a collective. Knowledge can grow past individual insight and make true impacts when the themes of knowledge are embraced and harnessed toward others.

Starting with Community knowledge, this is where students can work together to advance knowledge together, we share the load of learning and offer to teach and trust one another. This can generate Idea improvement, using peers, mentors, and community to build ideas off of one another. This exponentially increases capacity and cultivates partnerships within groups. When we can feel pride in our contribution and not allow for ego-driven competition, individuals and communities thrive. I begin to feel excitement for the development of others, and not having been beaten to the punch. This experience opens a willingness to generate and engage in dialogue. We are no longer in a state of protecting our ideas but sharing them in hopes of hearing from the strengths of others to improve our ideas, information, and breadth of knowledge. This again is no longer competitive, but restorative. Allowing us to build off of one another and allowing access to the constructive use of authoritative information, means we grow faster together. We allow for knowledge to impact knowledge so that we can move each other as a whole through the process of learning more efficiently. This ultimately allows us to arrive at the creation of Epistemic artifacts, tangible sharable items that are created from the knowledge and understanding gained from the collaboration of the informed.

Observing and supporting the themes of knowledge being, Community Knowledge, Idea Improvement, Dialogue, Constructive use of Authoritative information, and Epistemic artifacts is essential to unlocking the full potential of knowledge. Insight, those pivotal ah-ha moments, are invaluable and can shape the course of our lives. However, insight alone lives within the framework of our individual experiences. True impact and legacy are achieved when we step beyond ourselves—sharing knowledge, empowering others, and collaborating with those who hold wisdom we have yet to uncover.

Let us not simply hold knowledge; let us share it boldly, turning insight into a force for change that leaves a legacy far greater than ourselves.