Contiunity

 Following yesterdays' blog posting I was pleased to read some comments. It is always a pleasure to know that someone is reading and giving thought to my words. I had mentioned in that posting how the conduct of church services have changed over the years. I had written a post about that very thing earlier in the year. It is titled Celebrant or Supplicant. I guess it is the same way for us all, we become accustomed to a certain routine, certain expectations and change comes slowly. Should we be away from that routine for any length of time the change can be a shock. It can appear wrong ! That is true even when there is no right or wrong way to do something, like going to church. As long as the intent is pure in spirit, the manner in which you worship should not come under question. It was that that lead me to thinking about a lack of continuity. Tradition one might call it. Traditions and the traditional way are practiced generation after generation. Tradition gives continuity to our lives. And I began to think that perhaps it is this lack of continuity and traditional values that have lead us to where we are today. Are we lost ?
 These traditional values have stood the test of time. Time is the final measure after all. Our lives are finite, time is not. I question the wisdom of the abandonment of these tried and true values. A resetting of the standards. It is occurring throughout our society and not just in the manner of worship. It is also in the manner of raising our children. The values being instilled in them is quite different than in the past. Many are being taught that they are the center. The lessons focusing on self worth and personal needs. They are being taught as a singularity, not as a part of the whole. That, I believe, may be because of this loss of continuity. A loss of continuity in family, community and country. They are becoming lost. Commonality is just as important as continuity. This changing of our value system is damaging that commonality and contributes to the loss of continuity. indeed it destroys it. Are these changes for the better, or are they just a means to circumvent the inconvenient ? Practicing traditions and upholding established values can be inconvenient when you are the center of focus. Traditions and values are the body of a society. Destroying them, destroys the society. Perhaps that is why we get that feeling of loss. We feel disconnected. We long for the way it used to be.
 I can't help but notice the prevalence of a particular practice these days. The seeking of counsel. Was a time we sought consul from our religious leaders. Now we just attempt to sue the other person or entity that offends us. Oh we have plenty of other " counselors " to turn to and we do so frequently. Why do you think that is ? It is because we are lost and seek guidance on how to proceed. Those lessons were not taught to us in our youth. There was no continuity in that area. Not being raised as a part of a family, community or even country it could be no other way. Traditions and values are instilled in a person, not taught from a book. They are not intellectual property.
 Some may find these connections I am making, tenuous at best. I don't claim to have any special insight into these things. I do know the comfort I receive from these traditions and values. I was fortunate enough to have been raised that way. The fields I played in as a child were the ones my parents and grandparents had played in. The church I attended was the same. Even the manner of our speech was the same as those that had gone before us. We drew upon the lessons of the past to solve the problems of the day. We were taught, it wasn't about us. It was about your brothers and sisters.  Family first !  Community came next, and country. Respect was given freely and was only lost due to your own actions. The notion of having to earn respect is a fallacy. You had to work to keep that respect ! You are responsible for that. Is it that that has become inconvenient ? Is that what we wish to circumvent by the abandonment of tradition and value ? Personal responsibility should be a tradition  !