The Future is Bright
Each generation thinks the one coming behind it is going to the dogs. For my parents it was rock music and hippies. For us it’s social media, reality TV and texting. The younger generation brings with it a rejection or reinvention of the values, work ethic and culture of their parents. It’s part of the natural order.
This is graduation time. I’ve been to two recently that have re-ignited my optimism about our future. What gives me hope when I look around at youth these days? Rampant creativity. Our challenge as parents, mentors, and stewards of the next generation? Don’t screw it up.
Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas. – Paula Poundstone
We are no longer living in an industrial age where uniformity and conformity are necessary (if they ever were.) There is no guarantee that if our kids do everything “right” by traditional standards their success is guaranteed. Much of the work they will do hasn’t been invented yet.
I see a younger generation who value self expression, social causes, care for the earth and each other. This shift back to community – even if it is in some cases virtual – is a welcome one. We judge it because we don’t understand it. But we all want a place to belong and make a meaningful contribution.
It’s a mistake to force or manipulate our youth into what we did and how we did it as a safety net because we can’t tolerate the uncertainty of their future (much less our own). Love the kid who’s in front of you. See them for who they are individually and what they are capable of. Appreciate their uniqueness and help them stay connected to their natural gifts and talents. Comparing them to friends, relatives and peers serves no one and will only make you both miserable.
The hardest thing for a parent (at least for me) is to allow my daughter to learn and grow by making her own mistakes and finding her own way.
Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.
– Albert Schweitzer
Courage, trust, compassion, following what has heart and meaning, balancing giving and receiving, and leadership skills are the qualities of the human spirit that are universal. To model these for our kids, we have to do our own work first.
There is an ocean of talent, wisdom, enthusiasm and full-hearted youth waiting to make a contribution. This is not a time for playing it safe or staying small – for them or for us.
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I am a speaker, teacher, writer, and artist working at the convergence of self-care, spirituality, and self-expression.
A Creative Conspirator - an inciter of whatever makes you come alive, an excavator of buried gifts and talents, a fresh breeze that fans the smoldering embers of abandoned creativity. Read More>
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