It has been said you are only as old as you feel. I'm not so certain about the validity of that statement. I overslept this morning, getting a late start. Judging by the hour I finally got out of bed I should feel like a teenager ! Instead I'm feeling a bit older and lethargic. I will spend the rest of this day trying to catch up. Must be age, I find it all unsettling when the routine is changed.
They are many other things that make us feel old. It isn't just our physical being but mental as well. Take this recent uproar over the protests. I get the feeling that I must be from a different time when so many fail to understand a basic tenet. That tenet is the principal of respect. So many would replace that tenet with law. How to explain that tenet ? That is the challenge I face when posting to social media. The thing is I also realize it takes years to teach " respect " for that is something learned from childhood and is an ongoing thing. If the foundation was never laid, never taught, it is an uphill battle for sure. I stated the other day, I wish more parents taught respect rather than entitlement and I truly believe that is central to the issue. It seems it is more about, I can do this, rather than should I do this ? Remember when we were children, how often we heard that question. If Johnny jumped of the bridge would you do that too ? That's because you shouldn't. Remember being told, children should be seen and not heard ? That's because listening fosters learning and growth. Remember being told to leave the room when the adults were talking ? That was to protect young folks from subjects they couldn't understand. All of those actions were lessons in respect. I'll admit Dad called them laws ! They weren't written down.
That is just one reason I feel my age, as the saying goes. There are those that will say, it all went wrong. I disagree with that statement as there has been much progress made in my lifetime so far. I believe there will be even more. My concern lies with the abandonment of certain tenets, like respect. This of course ties into my sense of morality and virtuous behaviors. The social acceptance of what I believe to be aberrant behavior as normal, is very unsettling. It is a very confusing thing. I'm not one to say those practicing those behaviors should be ostracized or belittled in any fashion, all the while believing that it should be pointed out that those behaviors are aberrant. They are not normal. You can't blame people for an illness, but you can't call an illness " normal" either.
I feel old when I see people going to church in cut offs and a tee shirt. I feel old when I see people attending a funeral dressed in the same fashion. I feel old when I say Hello to a passing stranger and am met with a look of fear or puzzlement. I feel old when I order a cup of coffee and am asked, what flavor ? I would hope it tastes like coffee. I feel old when I understand certain actions that others, younger than myself, appear puzzled by. I feel old when going to a restaurant and a glass of water isn't placed on the table. I feel old whenever I hear folks publically using language unfit for a sailors dive, I feel old when I hear it proclaimed that God is just a fantasy !
They say you have to change with the times, There is truth in that if you want to remain connected with current events. I'm beginning to think I may have reached the point where I should just disconnect altogether. My only social obligation is to my family, my friends, and to the ones I love. I can't cure the world. That is a reality I find hard to swallow but it's true. I'm thinking it just that I was taught to care what others hold dear and to respect that. It didn't mean I had to agree with it, it didn't I had to protest it either.
Maybe this will shed some light on what I struggle to say. I was taught, as a child that the Jews killed Jesus. They remain Jews because they don't want to admit to that. I remember thinking, can't blame them for that, I wouldn't admit it either. I was also taught that it was their belief and they are entitled to that. I was taught to respect their beliefs and symbols. I didn't stage any protests at their services or outside their houses. No I just respected their right to worship as they pleased. Fact is I was a bit curious about it all. Turns out all I was taught was a point of view. A view with some truth in it. Of course what wasn't pointed out at the time was that almost everybody was a Jew back then. Well, not the Romans but the general population at that time. Christians only appeared later on. It is all a matter of perspective. Perhaps age has obscured my vision or perhaps with age comes clarity.
They are many other things that make us feel old. It isn't just our physical being but mental as well. Take this recent uproar over the protests. I get the feeling that I must be from a different time when so many fail to understand a basic tenet. That tenet is the principal of respect. So many would replace that tenet with law. How to explain that tenet ? That is the challenge I face when posting to social media. The thing is I also realize it takes years to teach " respect " for that is something learned from childhood and is an ongoing thing. If the foundation was never laid, never taught, it is an uphill battle for sure. I stated the other day, I wish more parents taught respect rather than entitlement and I truly believe that is central to the issue. It seems it is more about, I can do this, rather than should I do this ? Remember when we were children, how often we heard that question. If Johnny jumped of the bridge would you do that too ? That's because you shouldn't. Remember being told, children should be seen and not heard ? That's because listening fosters learning and growth. Remember being told to leave the room when the adults were talking ? That was to protect young folks from subjects they couldn't understand. All of those actions were lessons in respect. I'll admit Dad called them laws ! They weren't written down.
That is just one reason I feel my age, as the saying goes. There are those that will say, it all went wrong. I disagree with that statement as there has been much progress made in my lifetime so far. I believe there will be even more. My concern lies with the abandonment of certain tenets, like respect. This of course ties into my sense of morality and virtuous behaviors. The social acceptance of what I believe to be aberrant behavior as normal, is very unsettling. It is a very confusing thing. I'm not one to say those practicing those behaviors should be ostracized or belittled in any fashion, all the while believing that it should be pointed out that those behaviors are aberrant. They are not normal. You can't blame people for an illness, but you can't call an illness " normal" either.
I feel old when I see people going to church in cut offs and a tee shirt. I feel old when I see people attending a funeral dressed in the same fashion. I feel old when I say Hello to a passing stranger and am met with a look of fear or puzzlement. I feel old when I order a cup of coffee and am asked, what flavor ? I would hope it tastes like coffee. I feel old when I understand certain actions that others, younger than myself, appear puzzled by. I feel old when going to a restaurant and a glass of water isn't placed on the table. I feel old whenever I hear folks publically using language unfit for a sailors dive, I feel old when I hear it proclaimed that God is just a fantasy !
They say you have to change with the times, There is truth in that if you want to remain connected with current events. I'm beginning to think I may have reached the point where I should just disconnect altogether. My only social obligation is to my family, my friends, and to the ones I love. I can't cure the world. That is a reality I find hard to swallow but it's true. I'm thinking it just that I was taught to care what others hold dear and to respect that. It didn't mean I had to agree with it, it didn't I had to protest it either.
Maybe this will shed some light on what I struggle to say. I was taught, as a child that the Jews killed Jesus. They remain Jews because they don't want to admit to that. I remember thinking, can't blame them for that, I wouldn't admit it either. I was also taught that it was their belief and they are entitled to that. I was taught to respect their beliefs and symbols. I didn't stage any protests at their services or outside their houses. No I just respected their right to worship as they pleased. Fact is I was a bit curious about it all. Turns out all I was taught was a point of view. A view with some truth in it. Of course what wasn't pointed out at the time was that almost everybody was a Jew back then. Well, not the Romans but the general population at that time. Christians only appeared later on. It is all a matter of perspective. Perhaps age has obscured my vision or perhaps with age comes clarity.
No comments:
Post a Comment