FUDDY DUDDY'S BEWARE

Posted on February 01, 2012 by Carla Langmead, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Even the most simplest understanding of human development will tell you that there is a fairly predictable pattern amongst all of us..Parenting styles can now even be predicted before baby is born based on how we ourselves were parented. Sound scary? That means that the society we live in to a large degree remains in the hands of parents. “The hand that rocks the cradle is the most powerful hand in the world”. Our future society is going to be shaped by our young, which leads me to my experience on holiday recently.New Years Eve for me was spent in a Motor camp on the Coromandel Peninsula with about 40 or so 17-19 year olds. Yikes! (Not really Yikes! But can’t print what I actually said) My first thought was I’m not going to get any sleep tonight so best get my head around that! These young people were drinking, dancing and doing what young people do and I must admit I was dreading the rest of my stay. Well New Years came and went and maybe thanks to the wild weather I didn’t hear a thing! In the communual kitchen the next morning I was faced with a handful of ‘youths’ (or yahoo’s as my dad would call them). I was still judging them quite harshly as troublemakers who had the capacity to make MY stay unpleasant and uncomfortable when one of the ‘youths’ said Hello! At which point an amazing conversation started to evolve. After introducing and explaining to them that my mate with me can not talk well because of a stroke, what then was disclosed to me about their own lives blew me away. Youth number 1: “My dad had a stroke in his 50’s, he’s only just getting better now” Youth number 2: My dad fell off a ladder and he has a brain injury” Youth number 3: “My sister was born with no hands so people with different abilities has been a part of my life”. All of these young ladies had an understanding far out reaching what I had given them credit for. Their maturity levels exceeded most ‘adults’ I had ever talked too. The events in these young ladies lives had given them a deep understanding of not only themselves but others and the world around them. They then proceeded to tell me their future plans. Youth number 1: “I’m not sure yet but it will be definitely something in human rights” Youth number 2: “Im going to be a primary school teacher and spend a year as a volunteer in India”. Youth number 3: “Im going to be a politician and I’m studying economics”. Why economics? I asked and not social policies which is where I hear your passion? “Because it’s no good having social policies if there is no money to support it”. After which I knew then that these ‘youths’ partying and raining havoc in my space were actually the most inspiring bunch of people I had met for a very long time, which I freely told them in the hope of keeping these bright and passionate, well rounded and grounded people enthusiastic. I wanted to encourage them in feeling supported by an old lady who in that moment was looking at them with eyes of respect and awe and excitement in knowing that they were also going to shape my kids future. A future which I for one feel safer about if this is the standard measure of intelligence with our youth. This is evolution as a society and these intelligent young people will eventually have children of their own who will build on what they have been taught and so on. When us older people are being fuddy duddys we need to be careful so as not to quash what could be our greatest assets and investments. How can we help build a better society? By taking care of business in our own back yard through self awareness, by keeping our minds open to change, by appreciating the fact that our own generation and the ones before wern’t necessarily right. These young people I had the privilage in meeting were not apathetic as I had judged them to be. Apathy has no place in a moving and growing society, although there will always be those who are apathetic and they are the people who ride in the wake of those who are not. They will also be the ones who ‘turn’ on you when you need them the most as they do not have the courage to stand up for their convictions because they have never bothered to know what their convictions are. So before we judge others harshly how about at the very least invest in understanding ourselves, our own motivations and our own life then to understand others will be a little easier.

Carla is Wanganui’s Wellness Coach offering lifestyle interventions and private consultations.
Www.wellnesscoaching.ac.nz
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021 1658 961