One of my roles as a parent is to serve as a guide and partner in learning. Through this partnership, we discover new ideas within the context of travel and explore how these experiences relate to our own lives. Additionally, I continue to be an integral part of his feedback loop, allowing him to process and express his own reactions to the world around us. This has become one of the milestones of our parent-child relationship and has contributed to our close relationship.
We were recently talking about the experience and with a little research, we realize there is a new exhibit right now in New York called Body Worlds: Pulse which we are considering attending later this year.
Throughout the exhibit’s history, it has been fought against, heavily criticized, and widely protested. It may even be an exhibit some parents may choose to shy away from, Miro and I are excited to explore it once again. The Body Worlds exhibit offers an intense (educational) experience that people of any age can find inspiration from.
The Body Worlds in the Making
Meet Gunther von Hagens, creator of the controversial process known as plastination. This process became the foundation for traveling Body Worlds exhibition. In the late 1970s, the German anatomist invented this technique used to preserve cadavers for further study. Without this invention, the unique Body Worlds exhibits would never have been possible.
The Exhibit’s Many Controversies
All of the Body Worlds exhibits have been under fire by several different groups. People from a wide variety of backgrounds actively protest the display, for not only because of their religious beliefs, but also from medical, ethical, and legal standpoints. Catholic leaders and Jewish rabbis have made it publicly known that they object to the exhibit. They claim that Body Works demonstrates a lack of reverence for the human body. Von Hagens does not agree with those viewpoints. To the contrary, he considers the exhibit to be an honor to the human body, not a show of disrespect. Miro and I both agree.
Exploring the Body Worlds: Pulse Exhibit
Each of the Body Worlds exhibits takes on a different theme. Body Worlds: Pulse is about the story of the human body in the 21st Century. As the newest in the series, this particular exhibit demonstrates the latest developments in von Hagen’s plastination technique.
The Body Worlds: Pulse exhibit focuses on displaying the potential within the human body and the vulnerabilities as well. There are displays that show bodies in distress and others showing them in health. It reinforces the thought of living life mindfully, finding meaning in it, and promoting vitality. The exhibit embodies a rich multimedia experience, intriguing metaphors and progressive storytelling, inviting each visitor to create their own narrative of the experience. Both Miro and I are anxious to explore this show first-hand.
Important Take-Away Lessons
In spite of the many controversies surrounding the exhibit, Body Worlds: Pulse offers many important lessons to all who attend. It goes without saying, one cannot help to learn a little about the human biology and serve as an immersive anatomy lesson. Through the highly visual and multimedia experiences, attendees become familiar with the many parts of the body and how they function.
But more importantly, the exhibit also inspires everyone to contemplate life around them a part of the greater system. Our lives and our bodies somehow have a deeper meaning through this experience. I am certain that many walk away from the show with newly found resolve and appreciation for their own existence.
Lainie Liberti is a recovering branding expert, who’s career once focused on creating campaigns for green – eco business, non-profits and conscious business. Dazzling clients with her high-energy designs for over 18 years, Lainie lent her artistic talents to businesses that matter. But that was then.
In 2008, after the economy took a turn, Lainie decided to be the change (instead of a victim) and began the process of “lifestyle redesign,” a joint decision between both her and her 11-year-old son, Miro. They sold or gave away all of of their possessions in 2009 and began a life of travel, service, and exploration. Lainie and her son Miro began their open-ended adventure backpacking through Central and South America. They are slow traveling around the globe allowing inspiration to be their compass. The pair is most interested in exploring different cultures, contributing by serving, and connecting with humanity as ‘global citizens.’
Today Lainie considers herself a digital nomad who is living a location independent life. She and her son write and podcast their experiences from the road at Raising Miro on the Road of Life.
