Dora the Forever Explorer

The Best Characters are Real

I know a woman named Dora and like the animated character she is an explorer. Unlike the child in the series she is older than seven or eight or even ten, but just like the child in the series a part of her never grows old. The Dora I know and the Dora we all know are in fact leaders, each in their very own way. They are both multilingual, and while little Dora the Explorer was originally created to teach Spanish to American children, this other Dora helped teach her extended family members English when they arrived in Queens, New York, some years ago. These two Doras have both served as gentle ambassadors, as leaders taking their friends into the unknown.

Some things about these two Doras is a lot alike and what they both teach us is that the best leaders in life aren’t just smart or willing to take on the mysterious. No, the best leaders amongst us are kind, and often lots of fun. When they are younger they take on the world with gusto, as they get older, they take on life’s difficulties with a smile, with some patience, and sometimes grit, transforming that gusto into strength.

The Dora I know will play you music from her wireless speaker, offering you oldies from across the globe, and peppering in some contemporary songs so as to keep the younger ones in the crowd satisfied. Dora, we’ll call her the Forever Explorer, doesn’t get stuck in the old days even if she likes them. Dora the Forever Explorer lives in the moment, bringing her past along as a treasure chest from which to draw upon. With her music playlist and her web radio station selections she can DJ better than most. You see, this Dora stays with the crowd, and she leads by making a comfortable space.

This Forever Explorer can pour you wine, or serve you a tea or coffee without any judgement, inviting your comfort, and your honest conversation. This Dora will speak your language literally and emotionally.

This real life character can find her way up the cliffs of Santorini in August, laughing at the heat that might just kill her, exhibiting her strength of character in small, almost invisible moments. This real life Dora the Forever Explorer is the adept hostess, the thoughtful friend, the one who brings her favorite foods to the party and maybe the finest wines, but without a big flourish. Dora the Forever Explorer is not stuck on status, even if she has refined tastes. This Dora is not into excluding others even if she enjoys some very exclusive items. Dora the Forever Explorer has that kind of generosity about her.

I wanted to tell you today about Dora the Forever Explorer because she is a good example of staying really alive, of remaining curious and in this sense, forever young. She has raised her child. She has been a devoted spouse. She has lived on her own, and with the needs of others. She has done all the things that life asked of her and she continues to do them.

There is no comparison between Dora the Explorer and Dora the Forever Explorer, because one is at the beginning her Earthly adventures and the other has already made many of her life’s major decisions. Did she care for the sick, outcast and elderly when she was young? Did she find times to laugh when she wanted to cry? Did she dance when she could and did she sing out loud when no one was there? Only Dora knows the answers, but I have a pretty good sense of them, too.

This summer I was nursing my COVID head, strengthening my body with regular exercise, and keeping to myself in some ways. I let life bring me to places instead of making plans. I let great meals and good times come to be, quietly and effortlessly instead of of running in five directions to gather the ingredients. In that relaxed atmosphere I was lucky enough to run into a few shared moments with Dora, sitting on a quiet beach, singing Happy Birthday to a mutual friend. In those moments I knew I had to write this, to remind you and me that we all have the Forever Explorer inside us. And maybe I knew this already and maybe you did, too, but it’s good to be reminded that curiosity can enliven each day. Open-mindedness can lighten the load. Like-minded people do not always agree or look, sound or think like each other, but like-spirited people can always find each other.

So, summer is leaving and autumn is just about here and soon the holidays will be asking us to run around at a rate a thousand times faster than we are at this moment.

What is your forever spirit saying to you today? What are you doing to embrace your inner explorer? Whatever you do, may it help you embrace that part of you that is forever young.

Love, Mariette.