I can't tell you how many friends that I have, mostly male, who are living in their parents homes still. Most of them are unfortunately trudging through life working meaningless, poorly paying jobs. Now I can't help but think that they must feel a little like they aren't living to their full potential.
After thinking about it for a while, and watching the world and my own children in action (as well as looking at my own childhood) I think that perhaps what is missing these days- and has been for a few generations- is ritual.
Ritual in the family, ritual in daily life and ritual in society.
Funny, sitting on the fence, I can really only acknowledge religion in its many forms for maintaining its rituals. Though some may think that sitting in church for a few hours a week was painful as a child (or an adult for that matter), it is something that becomes a time to be still, to learn and to focus.
Perhaps it is time to create more opportunity for ritual in our life. Whether it is journal writing, Wednesday walks, Yearly trips, Weekly mantras, A party for a daughter’s first period, or a living off the land trip for a son looking for a place to focus his hundreds of thousands of years of genetic training to hunt and be a part of nature. Human beings who have a strong attachment to rituals seem to thrive. We seem to need them.
Being a parent I really do feel like something is missing from my children's lives. Back a few hundred years ago this would be the time for me to prepare them for their adult lives. Now it seems there is this huge chunk of time before childhood and adulthood where kids sort of linger. (Some way into their 30's)
Instead of sending our children out to hunt and have spiritual quests we leave them to hang out at malls and play video games.
Instead of celebrating our daughter's transition from child to woman, we dedicate a few minute and sentences on what products to use to control the problem.
There is a disconnect here. We are walking head first into a generational gap that I don't quite know how to deal with. But I am going to try researching alternatives to passively watching my children grow into teenagers. Rather, I would like to help them grow into adults.
After thinking about it for a while, and watching the world and my own children in action (as well as looking at my own childhood) I think that perhaps what is missing these days- and has been for a few generations- is ritual.
Ritual in the family, ritual in daily life and ritual in society.
Funny, sitting on the fence, I can really only acknowledge religion in its many forms for maintaining its rituals. Though some may think that sitting in church for a few hours a week was painful as a child (or an adult for that matter), it is something that becomes a time to be still, to learn and to focus.
Perhaps it is time to create more opportunity for ritual in our life. Whether it is journal writing, Wednesday walks, Yearly trips, Weekly mantras, A party for a daughter’s first period, or a living off the land trip for a son looking for a place to focus his hundreds of thousands of years of genetic training to hunt and be a part of nature. Human beings who have a strong attachment to rituals seem to thrive. We seem to need them.
Being a parent I really do feel like something is missing from my children's lives. Back a few hundred years ago this would be the time for me to prepare them for their adult lives. Now it seems there is this huge chunk of time before childhood and adulthood where kids sort of linger. (Some way into their 30's)
Instead of sending our children out to hunt and have spiritual quests we leave them to hang out at malls and play video games.
Instead of celebrating our daughter's transition from child to woman, we dedicate a few minute and sentences on what products to use to control the problem.
There is a disconnect here. We are walking head first into a generational gap that I don't quite know how to deal with. But I am going to try researching alternatives to passively watching my children grow into teenagers. Rather, I would like to help them grow into adults.
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