July: On Family

July 8

The importance of conversing with or just listening (or crying) to someone older and wiser than you cannot be overstated. We as humans, at first glance, might seem quite different from each other, but scrape past the surface, even just a little bit—and you’ll see just how fundamentally similar we all really are. That’s a beautiful thing—to understand that we are the same, no matter what we look like or where we come from or what we believe. That our differences are largely manufactured or perpetuated and exacerbated by those in power to retain control. And also to understand that those who have come before us have already gone through everything we’re going through now and still found ways past the challenges, still found ways to survive against seemingly insurmountable odds, and still found ways to be happy and find love in a world that sometimes feels so full of hate and pain—in a world that can often feel like God is out of town and the universe cares nothing for our menial existence.

If you are fortunate enough to have a mother or father or similar figure—a grandparent or older friend—someone who’s been here a little while longer, someone who saw a little more than you, someone who is willing to share their knowledge and experience of their existence as a human on this planet—do yourself a favor, admit that you don’t know it all and get ready to learn—and someday, you’ll be that person for someone younger. 

• Reflection title: Listen, Learn, Teach
• Creative inspiration:  Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
• Reflection question: Do I have an older, wiser person I can speak to and learn from? Can I be that person for the younger generation?