Leading The Way

Sunday dinners with The Family

The Art of Living

Leading The Way; Why We Can't Complain About Young Folks

 Alright boys and girls I'm going to get right to this.

 

I'm really getting tired of hearing folks who are my age, the AARP age, complain about young folks. They say they are lazy, idealistic, unrealistic know-it-alls who know nothing.

Well, I don't see it that way. These young folks, our young folks know a lot. They have the ability to tap into information in ways that never existed before.

Younger folks tend to be compassionate and caring and have a desire to be fully engaged.

They are also missing out on some very important things.  

That's where we come in. It is our job to be the guide. 

A few weeks ago, a friend told me about how his parents would take in anyone who needed a place. As long as there was room in their home, there was a place for someone who needed it. He went on to say that when the elders die, it is an end of an era. We then must take up the slack.

Right then, it occurred to me that my generation has been sold a new brand of aspirations; we are being sold a second youth. 50 is no longer 50, it's 35.

We are not older, we are embracing the little child within. Instead of teaching young folks we are out trying to reclaim the youth and beauty we didn't appreciate when we had it.

So where does this leave the 20-somethings? Who do they learn from?  

Recently, I've began hosting dinners on Sunday nights for a group that calls themselves, "The Family."

 It's a group of young folks who come together to laugh, learn and share their week with one another and with me. They are smart, hard working and compassionate. When I am with them, I am encouraged about our future.
Each week, I learn new things that I would not have found on my own and every week, I am able to help these young folks "see their way clear."

 Someone  did it for me, I must do it for them.

 

I know I'm not old, but I am older than them. They need me and I need them.

 

What can you do to guide, encourage and uplift a young person. You've had your chance; give them one and you will get another.

 

Be you, be well, be leading the way.

Bertice Berry, PhD.