Dear Dad,
From our first memories, our worldviews are shaped by the experiences of those from whom we learn, by knowledge and understanding we can’t be born with but which can be bestowed. While our life journeys are confined to the paths we individually follow, what we learn and the outlook we develop is not, insight that transcends our different journeys.
My earliest memories were of the wonder of a world from which there is so much to learn and understand, a never-ending adventure of the exploration of ideas. My life trajectory, the one I have chosen to follow, has been one driven by this desire to understand, motivated by the sense of wonder and fascination imbibed upon me from the start. This passion has guided me towards a life dedicated to pursuing knowledge and understanding of the world in which we live.
Although now in a very different field, my passion for science and the pursuit of knowledge emanates from our early pursuits together. Whether travelling the world collecting marine samples on research trips, examining them under the microscope, writing ecological computer simulations, or publishing our results while still in school, the drive to understand derives from a life of encouragement to do so. The fascination with science you bestowed upon me is what stimulated my passion to explore and understand.
No scientist can uncover new insight in the absence of building upon what is already known. Our knowledge as a species is a collective one. None of us can know it all, yet we all know it in part, and what we contribute towards our collective understanding from our small slice of human experience is what defines us and provides us with permanence.
Our lives are not only driven by knowledge but also by the appreciation we have for what the world has to offer. Art, music and the pursuit of creativity are what give an often dark world its vibrant colour, the things that bring us joy and make us whole.
But the most powerful and enlightening understanding of all isn’t that which can be itemised or memorised, but the perspective we form and the guidance this provides in the way we interpret the world in which we live and the life journeys we pursue.
Our contribution to knowledge is not confined to explaining the physical world in which we live. As important is our perspective of humanity and the place we hold within it.
The world and society into which you were born seem so distant from mine as to feel unreal — different worlds from different times. Yet despite the lessons from which to learn, as a species, we nonetheless fail to do so. Despite seemingly distant horrors of the past that we may feel have been overcome, we remain the same species, driven by the same human flaws.
Having the privilege of being born into a place of peace, it is hard to comprehend such very different childhoods, differently tinted lenses that risk obscuring that the world in which I live is driven by the same human flaws that have always characterised humanity and always will.
Although we will always remain the same species with the same failings, our collective outlook evolves, and the way it evolves, driven by what we collectively learn, is perhaps our one saving grace.
The challenges faced by humanity and the obstacles to overcome may seem overwhelming. But we can always progress and advance in creating a better world, which only our shared wisdom can afford.
The path you have followed is an extraordinary one, driven by passion and seeking meaning. Our achievements aren’t defined by the challenges we face, but by the opportunities we seize and what we make of them.
Whether what we share be from scientist to scientist, mentor to mentee, father to son, or all of the above, what we share is what lasts and gives us permanence in a transitory world.
I am grateful for what I have learnt and been taught as without it I would have far less to contribute myself. But most of all I am grateful for the love with which it has been taught, with the understanding that this is the greatest gift that can be given. Although a gift that is hard to repay, it needn’t be as the goal is to pay it forward instead, to perpetuate it and expand upon it as a gift unto others rather than one to keep.
The most important contribution of all is to inspire those who follow us and guide them in finding their way in a complex and chaotic world. None of us can claim to be our own creation — we are all defined by what is instilled in us by those who guide us. Our world is one in which it is easy to become lost, but you inspired me and showed me the way. Who I am and what I am able to give follows from who you are and what it is that you have given to the world and to me.
Love,
Peter.
Klaus Rohde 