Early to Rise

Woke early. 2:27 am. Unsettled. Wondering what is happening and do I understand it.

Got out of bed then and there, dressed hurriedly and tickled the computer to life. At this hour only one email from the evening before and then internet news.

The final presidential campaign debate was held and now over. Hillary Clinton skunked Trump. Good. That’s as it should be. Reports all seemed conclusive that Trump failed to move the dial of American sentiment in the polls; indeed, Hillary appeared to pull a lot of support.

And the Chicago Cubs baseball team handily beat the Dodgers 10 to 2; a slugfest to overcome their weak performance during the previous game. All’s well on that front, too. [As this is written the Cubs are now in the World Series which begins tonight; Go Cubs!]

So what niggled me out of sound sleep? Well, last night was my weekly meeting with the teen addicts. Nice kids, really. In so many ways wholesome and pleasant. Exuberant, too; God yes – exuberant. That’s a good thing. But I had asked them to think on a question from last week to discuss at this week’s meeting. The question: ‘If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?’

And unwilling but able, they haltingly offered their view one by one. One said tolerance for people who are different or have differing views; another agreed with that point; another wanted to remove all corruption from government; one wished authority over others to be removed completely or greatly reduced (parental authority, teachers, schools, police, etc.); one fellow wanted higher education to be free and broadly accessible to students who wanted and needed it.

That latter ‘wish’ was from a teen that is rarely serious in the group, always unsettled with the group setting; interacts with others well and with animation, but a little silly and seemingly uncomfortable. There lurks a serious side to him after all! That’s a good thing to know, and welcome.

Of course we revisited these issues they raised. We attempted to understand them more a bit better. Not much clarity, though. Sweeping statements about government corruption were not supported by specifics but he will bring that with him next week. The overstatement will be interesting to struggle with next week and see if we can moderate the view and bring it back to human scale. Not all government is corrupt. In fact very little of it is corrupt. Misunderstood most likely. Mis-calibrated, probably. But room to learn more of what he means and what the world really is like.

Authority over others is too great? Of course a young person would chafe at authority directed towards him. It is natural. And needed as well. None of us are truly free to act anyway we want. A lot of freedom, yes; total freedom, no; unless of course you view annihilation as free choice. Self destruction is always an option for each of us; rarely chosen and then only due to severe imbalance and duress. Understood. But learning is what we all do. Limits give us cause to think, restrict actions, and understand surroundings.

It is a maturing process we go through. Authority external to us is not total or smothering. But it does exist and we are guided by it until we understand the limits and why they are there. Anarchy is destructive and demeaning. Order and calm are necessary.

Our discussion was at my request. I had unleashed ideas and feelings among the group that I didn’t know how to control (other than sheer imposition of authority!). It was uncomfortable to me. I didn’t want the authority. I didn’t want to impose my views on them, yet, they are so unformed in their experience, knowledge and understanding.

How do we help them see the world more fully and positively. It is not all negative. In fact the teens said how they liked that I was positive most of the time. They told me I see so much good in the world and possibility.

Well, at least I can feel good about that! Because I know there is opportunity and possibility abundant in our world. With so much choice and options life is overwhelming to those unstructured to deal with it. But it is positive; not negative.

I’m still unsettled about last night’s discussion. Is this what every teacher goes through every day? Good grief!  Good thing I’m not a teacher. I think it would drive me loony. The tough times bring us to the good times. Awareness is born from confusion and chaos. But that order of events is necessary to help each individual find their way through the chaos toward order and productive living. It is a journey with many stops, twists and side trips. Not all is productive with the exception of the final outcome. From the journey come personal power and control and awareness.

I wonder about next week. Will we capture a bit of that order and balance in our discussion? Time for positive thoughts here to get me to that discussion. Hmmm.

October 25, 2016