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Structured Chaos
May 2009
Recently, I spent the day with my daughter and a few of her classmates on a field trip. I don't seem to recall such drama at that age. It was simply amazing on some levels. I was doubly amazed at how detached and unphased by it all I was. Normally I would be affected by the seemingly chaotic range of the kids' emotions - from elation and shouting to nonchalance to anger to tears. It was different for me to witness as I'm not exposed to that often in interactions with others, even with the children I interact with on a regular basis.
I began to realize that it must be challenging for them to be accepting of all the normal energetic changes going on, while trying to find their place in the world. Yes, alot of us might not still know what it is we want to be when we grow up, but we do know a few things about ourselves and about life in general that help shape our emotional reactions to all that surrounds us and affects us. So in a way, I admired their tenacity because they kept rebounding after each emotion was expressed rather than dwelling in one specific emotion which we as adults tend to do moreso than our youth.
While these teenagers and preteens aren't quite sure what they want or how to act, they all pretty much roll with the punches as best they can. They seem closer to living in the moment with their emotions, since they deal with them at the time they reach the surface, rather than squelching them down to be addressed later, if at all.
They also were sometimes brutally honest with each other, which I found incredibly refreshing. They weren't mean in their delivery, but it'd be something like - "you know you're annoying right now?" or "you know you do this sometimes and it's just not right"...It was more bringing attention to something the person usually wasn't aware that they were doing. It made me consider how many times we sugar coat what we really want to say or we neglect telling our peers something about them because it'd be considered rude - yet in what I witnessed yesterday with the kids - whatever was said was usually well received. The person may not have changed their behavior, but at least the understanding was out on the table that certain people found it undesireable. And that was enough for both parties.
Upon arriving home, I realized how grateful I was to have spent the day with younger spirits. Sometimes we look at our youth as those who need to be trained in the rules and etiquette of society. Perhaps, in some cases they do. However, the more time I spend with our younger folks - of various ages, it's clear to me that we have so very much to learn from them as well.
Namaste.
- Pamela Aloia
Sol Angel PO BOX 26452 Collegeville, PA 19426
484-919-0348 Email us
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