Tabula rasa -- The parent artist

Tabula rasa is Latin for blank slate. It is a philosophical theory that all persons are born without any mental content, and all their resources and knowledge are simply all the things they process through experience, and sensory perception.

We are born a blank slate to be molded like clay.

OK this scares the crap out of me. Give an artist clay he makes the thinker. Give me clay and you get a cheap looking ashtray.

If we believe this theory (and I might a little bit), Trixie and I will be directly to blame for EVERYTHING, because we filled the little m's brain with her learnin.

Jeez the pressure. What if we imprint something bad on her little hard drive? Will she grow up to have an irrational fear of wood stoves, dog bowls and dog beds because I don't want her to have burnt hands, a face rash and malaria!

Oh crap she saw me in the bathroom does she have PTeSD?

Now I can't believe everything is a learned response. For instance animals in the wild will circle around in the grass a few times to pat down a nice bed and a view of danger. I see domesticated animals circle their own little spot on the carpet tons of times. They don't have predators...

and well as much as she pretends the little m. is not a domesticated or wild animal.

Perhaps I should take an art class....